The Chosen
by Nightjar
Summary: Lord Alan of Trebond died when his children were only four. Each of the twins were sent to live with their respective godsparents, but how different are the Alanna and Thom that hardly remember each other to the ones we all know?
1. Prologue: Weeping Skies

Miss Moony would like to say that she doesn't own The Song of the Lioness, and that she had no help with this story from Miss Wormtail, Miss Padfoot or Miss Prongs.

Warning for rampant AU-ness. Thom and Alanna were seperated when their father died when they were four, and the prologue is their parting, and the story goes on from there. It will be a little fast moving until the main part of the story when Alanna's sixteen.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Prologue

The rain hammered heavily on the stone walls of Feif Trebond, and the thunder boomed in between bright flashes of lightning. One carriage was parked inside the Feif walls, and a second, bearing the crest of the ducal House of Queenscove, clattered through the gates.

A groomsman hopped down from his seat next to the driver, and opened the carriage door, letting first a man, and then a woman, out into the courtyard.

Duke Baird of Queenscove thought that the dismal weather was only fitting for the occasion – Lord Alan of Trebond's funeral. The Lord and he had been good friends when they were Pages at the Palace, and they had been the bane of their instructors, preferring more academic pursuits to the traditional warrior arts taught to the Pages. Only one of their friends, Arthur of Tirragen, had been more enthusiastic about becoming a Knight.

Arthur had eventually become one of the top fencers at Court, and Baird himself had become Chief Healer, while Alan buried himself in his books, and when Alan's wife had birthed twins, the widowed Lord Arthur had become godsfather to Alanna of Trebond, and Baird had been asked to receive the same honour for her brother, Thom.

The other carriage, bearing the crest of Tirragen, could only be Arthur's, and Baird and his wife, Peony, entered through the open doors of Feif Trebond, and found Arthur standing in the hallway, with a red-haired, violet-eyed toddler on each side of him.

'Where Papa?' the twin with short hair – Thom – demanded as Baird and Peony entered the Feif.

Almost simultaneously, a guardsman bowed by the door, and said, 'Yer Graces, welcome to Trebond. I'm Coram Smythesson, Master Thom's regent.'

'It's a pleasure to meet you, Guardsman Smythesson,' Baird said pleasantly, and Peony curtsied. 'I only wish it could have been under less unpleasant circumstances.'

Coram nodded, and bowed to the Duke and Duchess, and to Lord Arthur, before leaving them alone in the hall with the twins.

'Where Papa?' Thom asked again, and Baird crouched down so he was on eye level with the boy and his sister.

'Father's had to go away for a long time, Master Thom, Lady Alanna,' he said, smiling sadly, and then he gestured to a large window that looked out over the half-flooded courtyard. 'The skies cry for your loss, as will I, given time to let it sink in.'

Thom fell silent, and Baird straightened up to speak to Arthur.

Seeing the unspoken question in the Duke's eyes, Arthur said, 'I leave tonight. Will you be staying for a while?'

Baird nodded, and looked down at his new charge. 'I will ride for Corus in a week, and I will be taking the young Master with me.'

Thom wasn't listening any more, and was instead sitting on the floor with Alanna, whispering quietly together. He was loathe to separate them, seeing how close they were, but he knew that both he and Arthur had to fulfil their promises to their old friend.

'I will see you there in due time, then,' Arthur said, and picked Alanna up, despite her mild protests. 'Goodbye, Baird, Peony.'

Baird nodded to the last of his close friends, and watched until he was out of sight. 'Where is Alanna going?' Thom asked.

'Away,' Baird replied, 'to Feif Tirragen.'

The boy's eyes widened, and he darted for the doors, Baird and Peony hot on his heels.

'Alanna!'

The carriage bearing the Tirragen crest was already pulling out of the gates, with Alanna's trunk secured on the back, and the girl's face peering resignedly out of the rear window, her face distorted by rain-tracks on the glass.

'Alanna!'

Thom ran after the carriage, his tears mingling with the skies', but the gates of Trebond closed as he reached them, and he was left banging on them.

His cries of anger and despair echoed through the Feif like the thunder screaming above.


	2. Chapter 1: Tirragen

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to crazyirishchocolatelover for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Unknown-Dreams, Kaaera, Elfsquire90, Clair-a-net, Legit, magewhisperer and razzle-dazzle-me for reviewing.

To Elfsquire90: Umm… well, yes. But I'm hoping it won't just become one of the many.

To Kaaera: Hee. When you said A/N, I thought for a moment that you meant Alanna/Numair, which kind of surprised and worried me, but then I remembered that A/N means Author's Note.

The first few chapters deal with Thom and Alex's relationships with Alanna before she goes away, okay? And then I'll get on to the other stuff.

-- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good --

Chapter 1

'Why don't you just go away?' the boy asked Alanna when she was six. 'No one wants you here.'

His hair and eyes were dark, and the latter glinted with a predatory kind of hate. The hate he felt for the girl who'd stolen his father from him.

'Leave me alone, Alex,' the girl dressed as a boy replied, sitting on the edge of the courtyard wall. 'D'you think _I_ want to be here?'

Lord Arthur's son scowled at her, but didn't speak again, and eventually got bored of watching her sulk, and returned to the stables, to groom his new horse that he'd be taking to the palace with him come the autumn term.

The girl looked on with envy, and then looked down at her shirt and breeches that she knew would soon be exchanged for skirts and petticoats with disgust. Thom was gone, now, and with him went her last chance to become the Lady Knight she dreamed of being.

'I hate you,' the red-haired, violet-eyed girl shouted later that night, her pillow muffling the sound. 'I hate you for leaving me here, Papa.'

_Hello again, Alanna,_

_Everything's normal here in Corus. Duke Baird says that there's trouble brewing at the Tusaine border, but we remain, as ever, unaffected._

_I'm beginning my training properly now, but I'm only to learn Healing for the moment. The Duchess says that by the time I am a page, I will be the finest Healer in Court, but I hold on to the hope that Duke Baird will send me to the City of the Gods to become a proper mage (luckily, I still have four years to try to persuade him)._

_How are you? What have things been like at Tirragen recently?_

_Your brother,_

_Thom of Trebond_

_PS. The Duchess says I'm starting to sound like a proper scholar already – is it true?_

_Thom,_

_I'm fine, and everything's been the same as usual over here, except that Alex is preparing to start his page training next autumn. He's got a new warhorse, called Falcon, and he's beautiful._

_Lord Arthur still says I have to go to the Convent, but, like you said, we've still got four years to wheedle them into doing things our way, and if I don't manage it, well, I'll deal with that when – and if – it comes._

_Write back soon,_

_- Alanna_

_PS. Yes, you're starting to talk like Papa did, if that's what you mean by "sounding like a proper scholar"._

The family was alright to her, for the most part: Two grownup and married daughters, who had inherited their father's looks and their mother's Gift, and then there was Alex. Giftless Alex – the only boy, who looked more like his grandmother than either of his parents, and who wanted nothing more than his father's approval.

Alanna knew that it would be a long while before he'd believe that she wasn't trying to compete with him.

She'd heard him arguing with Lord Arthur a few days after the incident in the courtyard. Peering through the door, she saw the Lord of Tirragen behind his desk, and Alex standing in front of it, looking angry. 'It's time that you accepted what she is to you, Alexander,' her godsfather snapped.

Alex's eyes flashed, and he cried, 'She is _not _my _sister_!'

Lord Arthur's expression softened slightly, and he replied in a thoughtful tone, closely scrutinising his only son. 'No. She's not.' Which left both Alex and Alanna rather stunned.


	3. Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Elfsquire90 for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank SkyWolf, Mercury-Shadowfeather, sirladyknight, Bambolieblue, Kaaera, razzle-dazzle-me, Kenobi-girl1, magewhisperer, crazyirishchocolatelover and Unknown-Dreams for reviewing.

To Mercury-Shadowfeather: I read the story – it's certainly an interesting idea, though I'm not too fond of Arianna. Keep it up!

To SkyWolf: (grins) Wait and see.

To Bambolieblue: They know they're not related. They were only stunned because Lord Arthur had been going on at them for ages about how they should be brother and sister to each other, and they didn't expect him to stop so soon.

To sirladyknight: (points above). He knows. Hell, he probably even remembers when Alanna arrived.

To magewhisperer: I could read and write when I was six – I just had really bad handwriting. And I expect they would probably be able to get other people to do the writing for them anyway, and reading aloud. Well, that's my excuse, anyway. And Lord Arthur is a good guy. Definitely. And she probably wouldn't be able to persuade him to let her be a page, but what she wants most at the moment is just to not have to go to the convent.

To Kaaera: (grins evilly) Nuh-uh. Not telling.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 2

When she was seven, one of the Tirragen guardsmen took Alanna to the palace. She rode Chubby – a Trebond pony who had been sent after her at Tirragen by Coram Smythesson, a few years back – and guided the mare – too tall to be a pony, but smaller than most horses – with a lead-reign, which she shortened dramatically as they entered the Lower City.

After a few minutes, the palace rose into view on the hill ahead of them, and the sight of it was magnificent, strengthening her resolve to become a Lady Knight even as she sat there, holding tightly onto Chubby and the mare's reigns.

When she and the guardsman – Artos – arrived, they were nodded through by the Palace Guard, and, after stating their business, Alanna was given directions to the riding arena, and a servant was sent to Duke Baird's residency to inform Thom of her visit.

Alex had been given a palace spare, it seemed, which was much too small for him – short though he was -, and seemed to be rather bad-tempered as well.

As she watched, her presence noted only by the instructor, Alanna found herself relieved that the pony didn't appear to spook as easily as Falcon had, and then she wondered why she'd been worried in the first place – Thom was her brother, not Alex.

'Nond! Hold your mount in position in front of the Lady!' Alanna rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to tell the instructor that she was no Lady, as the Nond boy directed his own pony back into the line, in front of Alex's.

As it happened, though, she didn't _need_ to say anything, because Alex had spotted her, and told the instructor himself. 'What are you doing here, anyway?' he asked when, after being given one bell of punishment work for the remark, he and his friends among the first-year pages were given permission to dismount and speak with her.

'I came to see Thom,' Alanna answered easily, 'and Lord Arthur asked if I would bring you her-' here she gestured towards the chestnut mare, '-while I was here.'

Alex and a tall, black-haired boy looked over the mare carefully, and another boy whistled, impressed – the mare _was_ a rather well-bred one – 'Nice,' he said, and Alex looked up from his examination of the mare's knees.

'You think?' he asked, and all three of his friends nodded. To Alanna, he said, 'What's her name?'

'Sparrow,' his godssister replied, and then added, 'I'll be taking Falcon back to Tirragen with me.'

Alex nodded distractedly as Sparrow head-butted his shoulder, and the other boys took it upon themselves to introduce themselves to her.

The black-haired boy was Raoul of Goldenlake, and the one who'd whistled was Gareth – Gary – the Younger of Naxen. The last to speak was the Nond boy she'd noticed earlier – whom Gary jokingly claimed was "Raoul's blonde shadow" – called Francis.

She gave a wobbly curtsy, and said, 'Pleased to meet you. I'm Alanna of Trebond.'

-------

Despite the years apart, it was still almost impossible to tell the difference between Thom and Alanna of Trebond. In fact, if it weren't for the lengths of their hair, and their choices of clothing, the boy would have been indeterminable from his half-hour-younger sister.

The twins had both grown a little in the three years since their father died, though Thom's way of holding himself made it seem like he'd grown more. 'How've you been?' he asked Alanna when they met by Falcon's stall.

'I've been better,' the girl replied, then added, 'Lord Arthur's trying to turn me into a _girl_-girl.'

Thom smiled grimly, in all seven-year-old seriousness. 'Bet you're giving him hell for that, right?'

At that, Alanna couldn't help but grin back, and she was still smiling to herself when the time came for her and Artos to mount up and leave, with Falcon in tow and her brother waving after her in farewell.


	4. Chapter 3: Compromises

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Clair-a-net for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Kenobi-girl1, HPfreakout, Maria, crazyirishchocolatelover, Unknown-Dreams, epobbp, Pesche, magewhisperer, Virgo and Elfsquire90 for reviewing.

To epobbp: Umm… kind of, but not. If you know what I mean.

To Pesche: Sorry, not for a few more chapters. But we'll get there eventually.

To magewhisperer: (Sighs) I give in, because everyone seems to have guessed anyway, so it's not like it's going to be a surprise – Alex/Alanna all the way. But the romance won't come into the story until she's sixteen, in about (counts) nine chapters time (including this one). I'm undecided about whether or not George will play a major role in the story – he'll almost definitely feature, though I'll have to figure out a way to slot him in somewhere. There's a George-poll here - http/www. livejournal. com / users / moonshadow(underscore)nal34671. html (remove spaces, add an extra forward-slash, and substitute for symbols indicated in brackets) -, if you want to cast your own two sickles. And one last thing – long reviews make me happyhappyhappy, so don't apologise (hugs).

To Clair-a-net: I didn't think Alex was being _that_ mean, was he? (Is now vaguely worried.)

To Elfsquire90: It says somewhere in _Alanna: The First Adventure_ that Jon is younger than the others, even though he's in the same year. I'm figuring that he probably started a term later than the others, so that scene takes place before he's met Alex. Don't worry – you get to see Jon in this chapter.

I've only just remembered that Thom and Alanna already had a godsmother in SotL, called Lady Catherine, but can you just ignore that, please, because her non-existence is essential to the plot. A also know that Duke Baird probably _didn't _become a knight, but that's also a key point, because otherwise how would he know Alan and Arthur. Sorry!

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 3

With the summer of Alanna's fourth year at Tirragen, came Alex's return home for a break from page-duties. Accompanying him was Raoul, Gary, Francis, the Crown Prince Jonathan of Conté, and a very large company of Palace Guards.

Alanna sat atop Chubby's back in the fields surrounding the Feif, and watched the party approach. As they came closer, she could hear the boisterous chatter of the pages, a stark contrast to the solemn, wary silence of the guards.

'So _this_ is Feif Tirragen.' The Prince sounded curious, which she supposed was only natural, considering that the King didn't like to travel, so it was unlikely that his Highness would've seen anywhere far beyond the capital, let alone somewhere as far east as Tirragen.

Alex grinned and replied with false modesty, 'It's not much, but it's home.'

Gary snorted, and Alanna smirked, then urged Chubby into a canter so that she could be the first to greet her godsbrother's friends, though upsetting Alex would be an added bonus. Unless he'd changed drastically in the past two years as a page, he'd not be too pleased with the idea of her company for the rest of the ride.

'Alex!' she shouted cheerfully, as soon as she was within hearing range. His head turned suddenly to face her, a startled expression on his face, which quickly turned into a haughty one.

He sniffed, and when she got through the entourage, he said, 'I see that Father hasn't put you in dresses yet. The priestesses at the convent will despair of you within a day.'

Alanna jutted out a stubborn chin. 'I'm not going to the convent, remember – I'm going to join the Shang Order, or go to the Temple of the Goddess in Corus and become a warrior.'

Gary and Raoul seemed to be holding back laughter, and Francis and the Prince looked astonished. Alex just glowered as his godssister nudged her pony out from the bubble created by the guards, and spurred him into a brisk trot. 'Race you!' she called back to them, but no one seemed inclined to take her up on it, and she galloped back to the Feif unchallenged.

-------

_Sister dearest,_

_Duke Baird and I have finally come to a compromise, and we've decided that I will be able to be his apprentice until I am eleven, and then I will start my page training a year late._

_It is not as good as I hoped, but it will have to do, as I doubt I'll be able to get him to agree to anything more. Apparently Father stated in his Will that I was to become a Knight, and that you should be made to suffer at the convent, and I doubt that either Duke Baird or Lord Arthur will feel inclined to go against our late father's wishes._

_Perhaps I shall be able to do what his Grace did, and study under the tutelage of the palace mages in my spare time._

_Before I get carried away with my plans for the future, I have some news for you. The Duchess is pregnant again, and the baby is due to be born in about two months. Their Graces have been rather preoccupied with thinking of names – I suggested Thom, but they didn't find that particularly amusing – and it seems that the most likely choices will be either Bethany or Brennan._

_Yours truly,_

Thom 

-------

_Thom,_

_I'm sorry to hear about the Duchess – when's the funeral? And how's Brennan?_

_Everything's been relatively normal here, now that Prince Jonathan is gone. He was nicer than I expected him to be, though, and he stuck up for me when I got into a fight with one of the village boys._

_Lord Arthur and I have also come to a compromise about my future. I will be going to the convent, but I'll only have to spend four years there, instead of six, so I won't be going 'til I'm twelve, as long as I promise to behave, and try my hardest in all the lessons._

_Remember what you learn in page training, won't you, so you can teach me when I come to the palace to find a husband (not that I'll actually be looking – I just have to pretend to be). And I'll be sure to tell you everything I learn in Gift lessons at the convent._

_Your sister,_

_Alanna_


	5. Chapter 4: Summer Camp

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to HPfreakout for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank sirladyknight, Maria, Kaaera (twice!), fey, piglet12345, rhoda, Bambolieblue and Elfsquire90 for reviewing.

To Kaaera: Umm… no, she wasn't being sarcastic. The letter she wrote was in reply to another letter she received after the one I wrote down from Thom. Peony died giving birth to Brannan.

To Maria: Yeah, I know Thom probably won't be much good at fighting, but I reckon he'll be good at the theory of it, at least, and he'll be able to help Alanna figure it out much quicker than she would otherwise.

To fey: Alanna thinks the Duchess died because she did. She died in childbirth.

To piglet12345: Umm… there'll probably be a bit about the lessons, but not much, because I also think that that's a very boring subject matter. And, sorry, but no A/J – Alex/Alanna.

To Elfsquire90: Umm… didn't I answer that in the last chapter? Alex/Alanna. Probably Jon/Thayet as well.

To Bambolieblue: You mean her saying that she was sorry about the Duchess, right? No, she wasn't answering incorrectly, but she was answering a letter that had come at some point between the two I wrote in the last chapter. Umm… does that explain it?

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 4

The next year, the villages around Lake Tirragen were constantly attacked by bandits. Lord Arthur seperated the men-at-arms into two groups, led the larger one himself, and told the captain of the smaller group that he was now answerable to Alanna.

None of the fifteen-odd men were particularly happy at the idea of having a nine-year-old as a commander, but she and Alex had trained in combat together, and they all admitted – although grudgingly – that she knew what she was doing.

For this task, she'd been gifted with a proper warhorse, like Alex had been given Falcon when he'd gone off to train at the palace. The gelding's name was Tiny, which was well suited to his size, and Artos the man-at-arms had declared that he and Alanna made a formidable team, so long as Alanna had her longbow with her.

They were able to prove it early that summer, at the height of the raiding season, when they patrolled the hill country together, and came across a party of boys, cornered by a group of bandits.

The boys were doing a decent job of defending themselves, but they seemed to have been caught unawares, and the men and Alanna were greeted with many sighs of relief when they galloped into view, loosing arrows at the hill-men. That was, before the boys took the time to recognise Alanna as both a girl and the leader of the guards.

Alanna dismounted easily and handed Tiny's reigns to Artos, who took them in exchange for his spear. She made her way through the bodies of the raiders, prodding each one with Artos' spear to check for signs of life, and feeling the stares of the boys on the back of her head.

'You!' one of the boys suddenly exclaimed, and she spun around to face him. Looking closely, she could see that, under the mud, they were wearing pages' training uniform.

'My Lord didn't tell me that the summer camp was coming to Tirragen,' she said, identifying three of the pages in the group – Alex, who'd grown a lot since she's last seen him, Francis, and Raoul.

Alex sniffed, but didn't answer, and it was only then that Alanna noticed the horn in Francis' hand. 'Why didn't you sound the alarm?' she asked.

He looked at the horn in surprise, as if he'd forgotten it was there, and then grinned at her sheepishly, which answered Alanna's question easily enough.

After a brief talk with Artos, one of the boys she didn't recognise was lifted up onto Tiny's back – he seemed to be badly injured -, and Alex began to lead the whole group back to their camp. Alanna looked around once more, beginning to feel slightly sick, and then, when the others were just out of sight, she vomited in a bush.

-------

When she caught up with the others, Artos clapped her on the shoulder, smiling at her. 'You did well, milady,' he said proudly.

She returned his smile with a shaky one of her own, and then turned to look at Alex, who glared furiously. 'We didn't need your help,' he said harshly. Alanna didn't respond – she knew that it was injured pride speaking, and they returned to the camp in silence.

Duke Gareth the Elder, Gary's father, was waiting there for them, along with Gary, Prince Jonathan, and several other pages. He took one good look at the boy on Tiny's back, assessed the damage, and then said, 'Does anyone here know how to heal?'

There were a few murmured replies that Alanna didn't hear, but none of them seemed to please the Duke, but then one of the guards caught his attention, and after a whispered remark, he looked directly into Alanna's purple eyes.

'You, girl. What's your name?' he demanded as the Tirragen men pushed her forward until she stood in front of Duke Gareth.

'Alanna of Trebond, your Grace,' she answered, licking her lips nervously.

'And you can heal?'

'A little,' she answered. 'The village healing-woman taught me, your Grace.'

He looked relieved. 'Do you think you can heal him?'

She looked at the boy's leg wound, and nodded.

A few minutes later, his skin and muscles had knitted themselves back together, with urging from her Gift, and she met the page's pain-dazed eyes. 'What's your name?' she asked him.

He replied through laboured breaths. 'Ralon of Malven.'


	6. Chapter 5: The Sweating Sickness

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Elfsquire90 for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Bambolieblue, misc, Irish Violinist, Unknown-Dreams (twice), piglet12345, Maria, magewhisperer, erm, Lady Light, Kaaera, crazyirishchocolatelover, epobbp, On top of cloud 9, peacockgal17 and HPfreakout for reviewing.

To Unkonwn-Dreams: I love Alex as well. Such a pity that TP made him evil (sighs). Oh well; I guess that's what fanfiction's for!

To Maria: I'm not actually sure about that one, yet – I really only just put him in on a whim.

To magewhisperer: She already has healed him, hasn't she? And, well, he hasn't insulted her _yet_. (Grins manically.)

To crazyirishchocolatelover: Umm… yeah, she probably is. My excuse is that, due to circumstances, she's not really a _child_-child, even at that age, so she is rather more responsible than the Alanna in the books.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 5

Aged ten, Alanna of Trebond had a temper like a wildfire, and she intended to use every flash of it to her advantage.

The courtyard was the place for this, and she and Alex constantly competed, with crossbows, longbows, knives, wrestling, staves. All these, but never, ever swords.

The sword was the one weapon that Lord Arthur had forbidden the guardsmen to teach to Alanna, though they knew she'd be able to manage it, with time and practice. He claimed that there was too much more risk of her scarring herself with a sword.

So, when Alex came home for the summer, this time with only Gary in tow, Alanna found herself perched on the lower support of the fence that surrounded the practice courts at Tirragen, watching as the two pages faced off.

Alex swung his sword in a crescent moon shape on his left side, then mirrored it on his right, only just giving Gary time to block. Alanna lost track of their moves after that, they were moving so quickly, but it was only a few minutes more before Gary's sword clattered to the ground.

Alex's smile was triumphant, and slightly gloating. Gary sniffed, but grinned after a moment, and in that moment, Alanna admired her godsbrother more than she ever had before.

'What're you grinning about?' Alex asked accusingly, spotting her.

A muscle in her jaw twitched when he spoke, and all admiration vanished without a trace – or at least, without a detectable trace. 'Bet I can beat you at archery,' she said.

He bristled indignantly. 'Bet you can't,' he retorted.

Alanna grinned. 'I'll take you up on that bet. Meet you in the archery yard in one bell.'

Before Alex had a chance to object, she hopped down to the ground and darted off in the direction of the armoury, leaving Alex scowling and Gary snickering behind her.

-------

_Thom,_

_Is it true that the Prince caught the Sweating Sickness? And Duke Baird made you heal him?_

_There's all sorts of rumours flying around here, about that, and about it draining healers. Are you okay? Is that why it had to be you?_

_And Alex wrote to Lord Arthur that his friend, Francis died. What happened?_

_Sorry about all the questions. I guess I'm just worried. And frustrated, too – nothing's happened here in yonks._

_Love,_

Alanna 

-------

_Alanna,_

_Yes, I healed Prince Jonathan. The Sweating Sickness does drain healers, but don't worry, I'm okay, and so is the Prince (I know you're kind of semi-friends). He was one of the last to catch the sickness, so, yes, I was one of the only healers left with enough strength to help him. Eventually I had to use vervain, and call on the Gods for help. Scary, though I'll never admit that to anyone else._

_Francis of Nond is dead, but the rest of Alex's friends are okay, even if they'll probably be a little weak for a while. Alex caught it himself, too, but it went away soon enough – I'm surprised you didn't hear about it._

_Everything's been slightly hectic at the palace, what with the Prince just recovering, and the Queen's health is still deteriorating, even though she's been healed now. I've not had a spare moment to write sooner than this. Sorry._

_Only one other notable event. Duke Roger of Conté has come back from Carthak. I saw him when he was greeted by the Prince and his friends, and he's already told Duke Baird that he wants to thank me in person for healing the Prince. I don't know- I'm not exactly sure- I don't trust him._

_Yours,_

_Thom_


	7. Chapter 6: Tug

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Kaaera for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Kenobi-girl1, magewhisperer, epobbp, piglet12345, Unknown-Dreams, Bambolieblue, Lady Light and Virgo for reviewing.

To Kaaera: Dying? That seems a little extreme. But you were first, so I guess it works.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 6

When Alanna was eleven, Lord Arthur went to Court to visit Duke Baird, leaving her and Guardsman Artos in charge of the Feif, despite all her best efforts to persuade him to take her with him.

When he returned, a month later, he brought with him the legendary knight, Lord Imrah of Legann, and Alex – Knight Master and Squire.

Alanna came running out when the Lookout spotted them and the flag of Tirragen was raised. 'My Lord,' she called out happily, smiling, but the grin faded when she spotted Alex, with the reigns of Sparrow and Lord Imrah's warhorse in his hands.

While she watched, one of the stable boys approached and took Lord Arthur's horse, and he and Alex took the mounts back to the stables.

That evening, as the four of them sat around the dinner table together and Alanna eyed her godsbrother from under lowered lashes, she decided that the tunic he wore, in Legann red and silver, really didn't suit him as well as the black and gold Tirragen colours.

'What are you looking at?' he asked her defensively, shifting under her scrutinising gaze.

She met his eyes, trying her very best to look innocent, and said, 'You. Is there a problem with that?'

He flushed, but didn't reply, and Lord Imrah and Lord Arthur just looked on with amused and knowing expressions.

-------

After the Sweating Sickness, Thom stopped contacting Alanna. True to her word, though, she wrote him at least one letter a month, and sent each one off to Corus with a messenger.

_Dear Thom,_

_Things are the same as ever here at Tirragen. We haven't heard anything about the coming war with Tusaine, though – what's going on?_

_Lord Imrah is visiting at the moment, and so Alex is here – he's Lord Imrah's squire now, though you probably already knew that. Have you started your page training yet? Is that why you haven't been able to write to me?_

_Hoping to hear from you soon,_

Alanna 

'What are you writing?' Alex made his presence known to her. She thought that he had probably been lurking between the bookshelves for a while now.

'Nothing you'd be interested in,' she snapped, taking her frustration at the lack of news out on him for no particular reason other than that he was there.

He scowled. 'No need to get all snippy with me,' he said. 'It was only a question.'

She sniffed, blotting the ink on her letter, and then gathered up her writing materials and stormed out of the library before her treacherous tongue had a chance to apologise.

-------

Alex and Lord Imrah left Tirragen the next morning, before Alanna was awake. They had been assigned to border patrol for the next month, and then – Lord Arthur claimed – they would be returning to Corus, to meet with the King.

Alanna knew that she probably wouldn't be seeing her godsbrother again for quite some time, and, somewhere deep inside her, she became aware of the curious feeling that something was tugging on her heartstrings. Making her wish they'd parted on better terms.


	8. Chapter 7: Mother of Mountains

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Clair-a-net for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank magewhisperer, Zeetah, White-wolf2, Wingedrider, Elfsquire90, Bambolieblue, On top of cloud 9 and Unknown-Dreams for reviewing.

To Kaaera: Ninth, actually. Sorry. And you'll find out about Thom soon, so fear not. Hope your rash gets better.

To magewhisperer: I could never get that to sound right in my head, but it looked really good when I read it aloud, so I'm particularly proud of that chapter (does a jig) – glad you liked it!

To White-wolf2: George is going to be there eventually, I hope. But I might not manage to find a way to fit him in.

To Wingedrider: Umm… yes. They'll start getting on better in a few chapters time. And he's okay – just a bit of a prat.

To Clair-a-net: Ah, yes – Alex/Alanna mushiness. And as for Thom not writing; you'll see (grins evilly).

To Unknown-Dreams: Got it in one.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 7

When she was twelve, Alanna of Trebond was sent away.

She was sent to the convent school in the City of the Gods, where she was to be taught how to be a Lady.

As she said goodbye to Tiny, stepped up into the carriage, and waved out to the dwindling figures of Artos the Guard and Lord Arthur, who stood in front of the magnificent form of Feif Tirragen, she would have cried. She _wanted_ to cry, but crying in public was not an action befitting the godsdaughter of the Lord of Tirragen.

And she had promised him, and herself, that she would do her best, so that the Daughters would have nothing to complain about, and would send her home as soon as possible.

The ride to the convent was bumpy, uncomfortable, and cold. Rain hammered against the glass of the carriage windows as Alanna stared out at the dreary landscape, her travel-blanket wrapped tightly around her.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the carriage slowed to a halt, pulling up alongside an imposing stone wall. Men in servants' uniform appeared after a moment, and retreated quickly to the main building, carrying her trunks. The door opened, and she saw the coachman standing there with one arm offered, to help her down.

With regret, Alanna put down the travel-blanket, raised the hood of her cloak, and took the coachman's arm with a faked smile. Through the downpour, she examined her new prison.

Dull, dull, with grey _everywhere._ Stiff, proper, gloomy, stifling – they all came to mind at the sight of the building. It reminded Alanna of all the things in the world that she hated most.

'My lady?' the coachman said, watching her. She turned to him, once again firmly fixing her smile in place, and then released his arm and made her way across the courtyard with as much dignity as she could muster up, in the face of such a depressing sight.

-------

_Dear Thom,_

_I wish I was at the palace with you now. It's horrible here, and I hate it, even if I'm not allowed to put that into words._

_Really, I don't know how the other girls can stand it. Or the sorcerers, and the priests and Daughters. Anyone._

_I've made the aquaintence of two of the other ladies-in-training here – Delia of Eldorne and Cythera of Elden. I thought they were sisters at first, or at least cousins, because the names of their Feifs sound almost identical when you hear them in a noisy room. Delia's a snob, and I've decided not to ever, ever like her. Cythera's okay, but I wouldn't exactly call her a friend. Yet._

_They're both in the year above me, and they seem to be friends, though you can never really tell with these girls whether they're just pretending. I'm not sure that I'm going to actually like any of them, actually._

_Thom, will you please answer this time? I'm sure that I'm already going insane here without any sensible conversation. It's been almost three years (I think) since you last wrote, and you haven't even bothered to explain._ (Those last few words were slightly smudged, as if something very wet had been blotted off them.)

_Hoping (praying) to hear from you soon, brother,_

Alanna of Trebond 

Alanna sent her letter off at the end of her first week at the convent. She waited for three months before giving up hope of ever receiving a reply to it, but somehow, it was still quite comforting to write, as if the paper was another person, and could carry all her troubles for her.


	9. Chapter 8: Songbird

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Clair-a-net for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Unknown-Dreams, maliaphire, Elfsquire90, epobbp, Bambolieblue, On top of cloud 9, sirladyknight, Kaaera and magewhisperer for reviewing.

To Clair-a-net: She'll make quasi-friends, if not real ones, so she'll have someone to talk to – never fear! And she'll be at the convent for four years, including the last chapter.

To Kaaera: Nothing so dramatic – well, I suppose that depends how you want to look at it, but hey! You'll find out soon.

To On top of cloud 9: No, nothing bad has happened to Thom… yet (just kidding).

To sirladyknight: Thom has been… well… around, and slightly busy, though I won't say what with. You'll find out soon enough anyway.

To epobbp: No, he's not dead. Why does everyone think he's dead!

To maliaphire: You'll see.

The OC comes into this chapter. I'm trying desperately hard to make her as un-Mary-Sue-like as possible, but please let me know how I'm doing, because it'll be hard, I'm sure. Don't worry, though, she's not going to become a knight, or be fabulously beautiful or intelligent, or anything disgusting like that.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 8

Sometimes, Alanna managed to sneak out in the evenings, and visit the little village by the City of the Gods. Because of her promise to Lord Arthur, she was extra-specially careful not to be caught, and so she wasn't.

On the first night, she visited the inn, called _The Headless Boar_, and listened to a young girl sing in a strange, lilting accent that fitted well with the tone of the song.

She drank lemonade, and one of the waitresses gave her a freshly baked bun for free, saying, 'What're you doing here all along, young'un?'

Alanna frowned inwardly at the nickname – she didn't look _that_ young, did she? And she _was_ thirteen now, which was plenty old enough to be at an inn unescorted. 'I was looking around,' she said, 'and I heard the music.'

The waitress gave her a gap-toothed smile, and Alanna found herself flushing at the complete stranger's fond look. 'Lin's song's pretty, ain't it?'

She nodded, and the waitress moved away after one last beaming smile. It was at that point that the "pretty" melody began to slow, and then came to an end, and there were a few catcalls and splatters of applause from the drunker members of the audience.

The girl called Lin blushed, and gave a small, brisk curtsy before running off – presumably to collect her pay – with a broad smile on her face.

-------

The next time Alanna managed to sneak out, it was in the afternoon, and there was no one singing in the _Boar_, so she decided to browse the small shops.

The sound of a hammer striking metal caught her attention, and when she followed the noise, she found herself entering a smith's shop, which, from the sound, she could tell had a forge in the back.

It was called the _Raven Armoury_, and the products on display looked to be well crafted, even if some of the items were made out of rather second-rate materials. Looking at the peeling blue, black and gold paint on the sign, she decided that the business was probably going bankrupt by now, seeing as weaponry wasn't in particularly high demand in this area.

Sitting in the shop, behind the counter, was a girl. She looked to be about Alanna's age, with dark brown hair and pale skin. She stared off into the distance, her chin resting on one hand, and hummed an unfamiliar tune.

'Hey,' Alanna said, recognising her, 'you're the girl that sang at the inn last night.'

She stiffened slightly. 'Could you not talk about that here? Horace doesn't approve of my singing. He thinks I should be working instead.'

'Who's Horace?'

The girl called Lin half-smiled. 'My eldest brother.'

Alanna blinked. 'Can't your parents override his authority, though?'

Lin's eyes turned sad. 'Mother died, and Father ran off with a prostitute. Horace is in charge now.'

'Oh,' Alanna said. 'I'm sorry.'

She snorted, and said, 'What's your name, anyway?'

Alanna's grin was lop-sided and half-hearted. 'Alanna of Trebond.'

The girl got to her feet and half-bowed awkwardly, stumbling over her own feet half way through, and then righting herself. 'I'm Linnet Tanner, milady. What can I do for you?'


	10. Chapter 9: Knighthood

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank kittykritter, Kenobi-girl1, magewhisperer, Lisa Fox, Bambolieblue, maliaphire, Unknown-Dreams, On top of cloud 9 and Kaaera for reviewing.

To epobbp: Umm… not quite.

To On top of cloud 9: Yup. Well, not _good_ friends, but friends, at least.

To magewhisperer: Umm… no, actually. I don't really read much Tortall-fic or HP-fic at the moment. Sorry. But I'll be sure to check them out if I can find some free time this summer.

To maliaphire: Umm… no relation to Jem Tanner, though that _would_ make for a nice twist. And by "poor girl", do you mean Linnet or Alanna? … Though, come to think of it, the phrase would probably fit both of them quite well.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 9

During her third year at the convent, when she was fourteen, Alanna received a message from Lord Arthur, requesting that she come to Corus for Alex's Ordeal of Knighthood.

She was called to Sister Ursula's office after the morning meal, and told that she would be leaving the following evening. 'You must, of course, take your own maid with you. If you cannot find one for yourself, then you may hire one of the convent maids on a temporary basis.' Alanna scowled inwardly, but agreed with a fixed, polite smile, and she curtsied on the way out.

Down at the village, she ran into Linnet, who took one look at her furious expression and put down her leather ball, looking resigned.

'What's the matter, 'Lan?' she asked, gesturing for Alanna to sit down on the spare chair. 'I haven't seen you this angry since Lady Delia told the Sisters about your favourite breeches.'

Of course, eventually Linnet had begun calling Alanna by her name, instead of "milady", and that had gradually become shortened to "'Lanna", and then "'Lan", which she hated being called, but that didn't seem to phase Linnet – there wasn't much that did.

'It's not that I mind going to Alex's Ordeal,' she said, flopping down in the chair, forgetting all her etiquette lessons. 'But now I have to find a _maid_? Either that or I get stuck with one of the convent ones – probably Helena, and she can get _really_ irritating sometimes.'

Linnet rolled her eyes and then shrugged, saying, 'You could always take me.'

Alanna blinked in surprise. 'Horace would let you come?'

She nodded. 'He's been after me to get a job for a few weeks now. Since Jane's tenth birthday – she's old enough to look after the younger children now, so I have to go out and find paid work.'

'I suppose that makes sense,' Alanna said. 'And you wouldn't mind leaving them to come with me to Corus?'

Linnet half-smiled, and said, 'Definitely not. It'll be good to get away-' she met Alanna's eyes, her own ones sparkling with mirth –'broaden my horizons.'

-------

The two of them arrived in Corus a day before the Ordeal, and while Linnet went ahead to get some sleep in their shared room, Alanna met Lord Arthur there. 'Alanna,' he said, looking at her in delight, 'you've grown so much.'

She smiled, and curtsied, and then dropped her façade and hugged her godsfather tightly. 'Where's Alex?' she asked, and then added, 'And Thom?'

'They're in the training yard,' he told her, and when she let go of him, he ushered her in the right direction.

In the courts, she could see several pages learning swordplay, instructed by a strict-looking man in the uniform of the Royal Guard. She soon spotted Thom, with his flame-bright hair, tripping over his own blade.

Away on the other side of the training yard were a group of squires in various liveries. Amongst them she recognised Gary of Naxen, Prince Jonathan, Raoul of Goldenlake, and, of course, Alex. There was also one other boy, whose face she recognised, but she couldn't put a name to it – he seemed to be arguing passionately with her godsbrother and his friends.

'What's going on here, Alexander?' Lord Arthur asked as he approached, and a sudden silence came over the group, until they spotted Alanna, hanging back a little, as if uncertain that she was still a quasi-part of this circle.

Gary whistled, long and slow, looking her up and down, and Alanna scowled at him, recognising it somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind as the same whistle he'd used when he'd first seen Sparrow.

'Lady Alanna?' the Prince asked hesitantly, and she nodded, curtsying to him, but no deeper than etiquette demanded, and he smiled.

'You've certainly grown up,' Raoul said with that familiar open, friendly grin on his face, and he bowed, followed shortly by the other four boys, who had been jolted out of their surprised dazes.

'Why are you here?' Gary asked, and then blushed, as if realising what a stupid question that was.

Alanna raised an eyebrow, and Lord Arthur placed a firm hand on her shoulder. 'Lady Alanna is here at my request, Squire Gareth, to witness my son's Ordeal.'

Alex, who had remained still and silent until this point, shifted on the spot, his dark eyes flashing angrily at his father's action, and Alanna sighed inwardly, wishing that he'd realise that she wasn't trying to steal his father.

She looked around at the five boys' faces again, and suddenly managed to place the blonde-haired boy. 'Ralon of Malven,' she said, disbelief in her voice at how much he'd changed from the little boy she'd healed almost five years ago.

He looked up, startled, and met her eyes, then blushed furiously. 'I'm honoured that you remember me, my lady,' he said, and bowed again.

She grinned, and Lord Arthur released her and drew Alex and his friends away from the two of them, letting them catch up. When she looked back briefly, though she wasn't quite sure what she was looking _for_, she spotted Alex staring at her and Ralon with an unreadable expression on his face, and unbridled fury in his eyes.


	11. Chapter 10: Espionage

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Elfsquire90 for being the 100th reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Kaaera, Iian Feuerfalke, Bambolieblue, Morgan Fate, jtaandlca, The Incredible Emo Kid, magewhisperer, Clair-a-net, epobbp and On top of cloud 9 for reviewing.

To magewhisperer: (Cackles) Yes. Most definitely, he is.

To Iian Feuerfalke: Thank-you for actually responding to that, and you needn't worry; Linnet is going to be somewhere in between a major and minor character (that's okay, right?), but she'll probably have disappeared by the end of the fic (I think – I've been toying with several different outcomes recently, though). And, well, yes, this is Alex/Alanna. Glad to know there's more than one fan out there (or two, I guess, since SoHo Chick is probably also a fan, considering her fic, _Chain Reaction_, and the rewrite of it she's doing, _Soul of a Lioness_. Have you read them? They're _amazing_).

To Clair-a-net: Yes, he thinks there's something between Ralon and Alanna, but I'm not exactly sure what that something is. As for his distance: one word – denial.

To Bambolieblue: Thom's around, somewhere, just not in that scene. I don't find it particularly realistic that he, being that he's _nothing_ like the book-Alanna where it matters, would have the same friends as she did. And Alex? Yes, indeed.

To On top of cloud 9: No, Alex was Lord Imrah's squire, Roger doesn't hate Alanna because he doesn't know enough about her, and I haven't decided whether Alex is going to try to kill her, yet. That's all the questions, right?

To epobbp: No, not really.

To Morgan Fate: I greatly admire your ability to write one word that many times without smashing your computer in frustration.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 10

When she was fifteen, Alanna stopped writing to Thom. Since her trip to Corus, she'd known that he wouldn't be able to reply to any of her letters until Duke Roger had stopped watching him, and that wasn't likely to be happening at any point in the near future.

Her news, she decided, would have to wait for another year – until she herself came to Court to find a husband. And for that, she knew that Lord Arthur had been considering drawing up a contract to betroth her to Ralon of Malven, after seeing the way that the two of them had acted together, but all that had gone down the drain when he'd been killed by the Chamber of the Ordeal, shortly after she'd returned to the convent.

'You okay?' Linnet asked, and Alanna came back to the present with a jolt. Linnet's younger sister, Jane, looked at her curiously and then handed her the dish she'd been passing around – Haddock brought in from Lake Naxen, which was renowned for its wondrous variety of different fishes.

Seated around the table with Alanna were Linnet's entire remaining family – In order of age: Horace, Linnet herself, Jane, the twins Robert and Bruce and six-year-old Hugo, whom everyone called Bluey for reasons unknown to Alanna. Horace's daughter Julia was held in Linnet's arms, fussing slightly as her aunt tried to lull her to sleep: Julia's mother, like Linnet's, had died in childbirth.

'I'm fine,' Alanna replied. 'Just thinking.'

'Dangerous,' Linnet teased, her eyes sparkling in amusement, surprising the quasi-friend that she had in Alanna. Horace frowned, and she silenced herself.

A loud bell rang in the village, signifying the hour, and it startled Julia out of her brief doze. Linnet winced and then rocked her gently as she screamed in protest.

'I should be getting back to the convent now,' Alanna said, her ears ringing.

Linnet half-smiled and nodded distractedly, and so she left the large family to eat the rest of their meal without her.

-------

When it was nearing the end of the year, Alanna was shipped off to Queenscove, to attend Duke Baird's wedding.

After a bumpy ride, she was greeted by Lord Arthur, who insisted that she be "Sir Alexander's" partner at the dance that would be held in celebration. Grudgingly, she agreed, and Alex looked at her with that same unreadable expression on his face that he seemed to be wearing every time he'd seen her in the last year or so.

It was really getting quite irritating, she thought, no longer being able to tell exactly what he was thinking just by looking at his expression, though she supposed that it was mainly because they'd spent so long apart.

Unsurprisingly, after Lord Arthur and Alex had disappeared to Gods-know-where, she was approached by Thom. 'Greetings, sister, dearest,' he said with a flourish, grinning, and she rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to hug him. 'It is good to see you.'

Looking more serious, he said, 'I must talk to you, after the wedding. There have been some… developments on the issue I talked with you about last year.'

Nodding anxiously, Alanna agreed to meet him in private, as soon as she could get away from Alex at the ball.

Which was easier said than done. Apparently, he had been told to stay with her the whole night, and so she finally managed to slip away, feeling slightly guilty, when he went to fetch her a drink.

'Duke Roger's asked me to be his squire,' Thom told her. 'I'm the worst in my year at most of the work we do, but he probably asked because of my Gift.'

'What did you say?' Alanna asked, hoping that he'd refused, and that someone else would be willing to take Thom on instead.

He shrugged. 'I said I'd think about it. And I am – there would definitely be advantages to being his squire.'

Disbelieving, Alanna demanded, 'Like what?'

'The Gift training, for one. And the fact that I'd be able to get close to him. Find out what he's up to.'

'But we already know that, don't we? He's after the throne.'

Nodding, Thom replied, 'But we don't know his precise plans, or when he's going to act. I can find out those things – he's already told me some things, and I'm not even his squire yet. For instance, did you know that he was considering taking Alex as his squire? He said that he'd decided that he would, but he took too long deciding, and Lord Imrah got there first.'

'That's hardly anything that's going to help us expose him,' Alanna told her brother doubtfully.

He rolled his eyes. 'But it's a start.'


	12. Chapter 11: Corus

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Elfsquire90 for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank A Phantom Moon, dancer4eva, Bambolieblue, On top of cloud 9, SoHo Chick, Joan Mistress of Magic, magewhisperer, White-wolf2, Clair-a-net, Olwen, Kaaera, Iian Feuerfalke epobbp and HyperKathryne for reviewing.

To SoHo Chick: Wow! You reviewed. (Fangirls _Chain Reaction_ and_ Soul of the Lioness_). I reviewed, I think, as rogue kaiya, and, well, CR was the inspiration for this fic. Just because it first got me into A/A.

To Joan Mistress of Magic: Er… meaning? And I'm working on the chapter length, I promise, but everything flows better if I don't make them _too _long.

To Clair-a-net: You needn't worry about Thom. Or Alex and Alanna. Everything will work out soon. In the Narnian sense that all times are soon, that is.

To Iian Feuerfalke: Thanks. And I read your fic, _Hope's Nest_, a few days ago, and it's brilliant. I found it recced at fictionalley. Just thought I'd mention that, since I can't remember whether I reviewed or not.

From this point onwards, the story will be slowing down. A lot.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 11

When she was sixteen, Sister Ursula summoned Alanna to her office, and they spoke together of Alanna's progress in her lessons, and in proper behaviour. After half an hour, it was decided – Alanna was ready to leave for the capital: ready to find a husband.

Inwardly disgusted at the concept, she plastered a fake smile on her face, thanked the Sister politely, and then left to find Linnet.

'Of course I will,' Linnet said when Alanna asked her to be her maid again, and the two of them set off the next morning, after several teary goodbye hugs from the sandy-haired, freckle-faced Bluey, who seemed to have attached himself to Alanna in the three years that he'd known her.

'Everything's going to be fine, Lady,' Linnet said, reading Alanna's nervous expression.

Alanna looked up and met her eyes, half-smiling in return for the encouragement. 'I hope so,' she said.

-------

'Alanna, my dear,' Lord Arthur exclaimed warmly when he greeted her. 'It is so good to see you here at last.'

Instead of embracing her, though, as he usually did, her godsfather bowed over her hand and then kissed it gently, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he beamed up at her.

'My Lord,' Alanna said, and curtsied, missing their usual familiarity now that she was a Lady, and public displays of affection would be frowned upon.

Straightening up again, Lord Arthur took hold of Alanna's arm, and guided her indoors, saying, 'At your formal introduction to the Court, Alex will be your escort. Your brother wanted to escort you, but he will be required to serve the Duke of Conté at the ball.' Alanna merely nodded, surprised that she wasn't more disappointed at this turn of events.

Linnet, walking a step behind the two of them, rushed forward for a second and hissed in her ear, making Alanna look around and see a redheaded, violet-eyed boy in Conté colours rushing joyfully towards her. 'Thom!' she said, a smile spreading across her face.

'Hello, sister,' he replied breathlessly, coming to a halt in front of the trio and bowing to each of them in addition to kissing Alanna and Linnet's hands in what he probably supposed was a charming manner.

Lord Arthur bowed and then moved away, and Linnet curtsied before taking her leave, leaving the twins to catch up in private. 'How've you been?' Alanna asked, instantly dropping her "proper" act.

Thom grinned and said, 'I've been great, apart from all the bashing people with sticks, and all that rot. The Gift training is brilliant, and I've got my own room in Duke Roger's suite, though most of the doors have some really complicated locking spells, so I haven't been able to do much snooping around.'

Grinning, Alanna told her brother to slow down, and he stopped his monologue with a sheepish smile. 'Come to my rooms this evening, okay,' she told him, 'and we can do an information exchange – Gift-learning for weapons training.'

'Looking forward to it,' Thom answered, and then, hearing a bell sound in the City, he waved to her and sped away to see to his duties.


	13. Chapter 12: Scrap

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank On top of cloud 9, Bambolieblue, A Phantom Moon, dancer4eva, Kenobi-girl1, Kaaera and Clair-a-net for reviewing.

To Kaaera: Umm… that'll be in the next chapter, but it's not really all it's cracked up to be. I hope it lives up to your expectations, anyway, though.

To Kenobi-girl1: Er… if you say so, but by R/A, did you mean Roger/Alanna or Raoul/Alanna? I'm not such a great fan of either. Also, what makes you think it would make a good R/A?

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 12

Wincing slightly as Linnet brushed through a particularly large knot in her hair, Alanna said, 'What were you talking to my brother about earlier?'

'He asked how you've been coping with life at the Convent,' Linnet said. 'Apparently he doesn't think it's a subject you're likely to be completely honest about.'

Frowning, Alanna asked, 'And what did you tell him?'

'That you didn't much like the people there, but you've been fine otherwise. I'm not sure that he believed me, though.'

The redheaded girl snorted. 'He wouldn't. That's basically what _I've_ told him.'

Linnet stepped back, having finished doing her Alanna's hair, and told Alanna to look in the mirror. Alanna did, and couldn't deny that Linnet had done a much better job of making her look like a Lady than she herself would've been able to.

She sighed, and then said to her maid and quasi-friend, 'I suppose we have to go to the introduction now?'

'That might be a sensible idea,' Linnet answered. 'Before someone misses you.'

Alanna turned around sharply and stared at the other girl with some shock. 'Why did you say "you"? Aren't you coming, too?'

The dark-haired smiled slightly in what was obviously amusement at her mistress' reaction. 'Of course not. I'm not a noble, and neither am I going to be serving drinks there,' she said. 'I'll stay here and try to give this little scrap a bath.'

She gestured towards the filthy black kitten that had been found in Alanna's chambers, and had refused to leave. Not that either of the girls really minded, since Linnet thought the cat was supposed to be Alanna's familiar considering the identical purple eyes, and Alanna had always wanted a cat, a wish that had been further fuelled by the fact that pets of _any_ sort were not allowed at the Convent. 'That's an idea,' Linnet continued as Alanna was about to leave. 'What d'you say to calling him Scrap?'

Alanna looked closely at the little animal and agreed that he was _very_ tiny. 'Do you like that?' she asked him, and received an accepting meow in return. To Linnet she said, 'I think it suits him.'

-------

'When are you going to stop hating me?' Alanna asked Alex after a few moments of him staring at her and looking slightly constipated.

He looked up at her in surprise, and said, 'I stopped hating you a while ago. Why?'

Alanna blinked at the unexpected answer, and then replied, 'Because you keep looking at me strangely; that's why.' Her eyes flashed as he went unreadable again, and she snapped, 'Like you are _now_, Alex. Like I'm something repulsive that you'd like to squash.'

'I don't want to squash you,' he protested quickly. 'It's just th- that, well, you look really different like that.'

His face went an inelegant shade of red, and Alanna inwardly sighed. He was probably embarrassed that for a minute he'd sounded as if he actually _liked_ her.

The herald announced the two of them, and Alex offered his arm and led her towards the open door at the top of the grand staircase. 'Announcing Sir Alexander of Tirragen, and Lady Alanna of Trebond, your Majesties.'

After that, she focused on nothing but the stairs, and making sure she didn't slip. Only one sound managed to cut through her determined concentration on what she was doing, and that was Alex's irritated, hushed mutter of, 'I _hate_ it when they call me Alexander.'


	14. Chapter 13: His Grace

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Captainobvious19, notyouraverageblond, A Phantom Moon, On top off cloud 9, Kaaera and magewhisperer (twice) for reviewing.

To epobbp: Umm… yeah.

To On top of cloud 9: Who? Alex? Yes, he's in love with her.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 13

Alanna yawned discreetly as she danced with Gary, and pasted a smile on her face as soon as he stepped away, bowing to her and grinning good-naturedly.

She managed to return his grin with a sincere one when he escorted her back to where Alex was waiting for her at the side of the room, speaking to two individuals that Alanna recognised with a jolt of uneasiness as Duke Roger and Lady Delia of Eldorne.

'I'm sorry to interrupt,' Gary said amicably, 'I just came over to return your godssister, Alex.'

They both bowed, Alanna hooked her arm around Alex's, and Gary moved away. 'May I introduce my godssister, Lady Alanna of Trebond, Your Grace.'

Duke Roger took her hand and kissed it, and Alanna curtsied. 'I have heard much about you,' he said, 'from my squire. The two of you are twins, are you not?'

'Yes, we are, Your Grace,' Alanna replied, and, after Alex finished the introductions, he asked her to dance.

Alanna, of course, accepted without hesitation. For one, that was what her training dictated that she do, in order to be polite, and secondly, she didn't mourn the loss of her brother's knight master and her childhood enemy as they moved away to speak with the king and queen.

-------

Returning from the introduction ball in a huff, Alanna was astonished to find Thom waiting for her in her chambers, talking quietly to Linnet, who was periodically snickering at his words. 'Is there something I've not been told,' she asked, with one eyebrow raised, and both Linnet and her brother looked up to see her standing over them.

'Alanna!' Thom said joyfully, springing to his feet. 'I came to tell you about my search of Duke Roger's rooms this evening, of course, forgetting that you would be at the ball, and Miss Tanner and I were just waiting for you to return.'

Seeing that there was nothing but sincerity in his eyes, Alanna sighed. '_That_,' she said with exaggerated tiredness, 'was a _complete disaster_. I met Duke Roger. I have also been reintroduced to-' here she wrinkled her nose as if smelling something disgusting- '_Lady Delia_.'

Linnet winced at the statement, and clucked sympathetically, just as Thom said, 'She's the really snobby Lady that everyone fawns over, isn't she?'

Alanna nodded, and he continued. 'She's been spending a lot of time with His Grace recently. I think she might be in on whatever he's plotting, too.'

'Well that's just _great_,' Alanna said sarcastically, looking disdainful.

Thom sighed and patted his twin's arm sympathetically. 'I'd better get going now, then,' he said, and after receiving a nod from Alanna and bowing to the two girls, he left the room.

A few moments after he'd left, Alanna turned to Linnet once again and said with a frown, 'What were you two talking about? Because, you know, Thom _never_ makes jokes unless he's trying to impress someone.'

'We were talking about His Grace, milady,' Linnet said, refusing to look Alanna in the eyes.

'And _that's_ a lie,' Alanna told her shortly.

Linnet looked up, taken aback. 'What makes you say that?' she asked.

Raising one carefully shaped eyebrow, Alanna replied, 'You called me "milady", and you only ever do that when you're lying. I'd have thought that you'd have noticed you do that by now, Lin.'

Linnet flushed, and looked down at her feet, and, sighing, Alanna dropped the subject. For now, at least.


	15. Chapter 14: Lightning

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to On top of cloud 9 for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Clair-a-net, White-wolf2, Chicken Licken, Kaaera and epobbp for reviewing.

To Clair-a-net: Uh-huh, Alex'll get _much_ more involved in the "deeper" plot (as **A Phantom Moon** put it so eloquently) soon. As for what'll happen next; nuh-uh. Not telling.

To On top of cloud 9: The point where it looks like I'm about to start writing fluff is the point where you should run away screaming. Because I'm crap at writing fluff. And, yes, Linnet's in love with Thom… kind of.

To Chicken Licken: Ralon's dead, remember? He died in the Ordeal, because there was no Alanna there to humiliate him into leaving the palace. And as for what's going to happen; I haven't decided _myself_ quite yet (well, I know the ending, and a few things that happen along the way, but this is all only brainstormed _very_ loosely).

To Kaaera: Uh-huh (nods).

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 14

Blackness pressed in on her from every side, stifling, suffocating in its intensity. Alanna struggled against invisible bonds as she fought to keep breathing the slow, heavy air, but it was no use.

She heard thunder sound somewhere in the distance, but saw no lightning, and the darkness crept into her nose, mouth, ears, eyes, down her throat. Her scream died on her lips, and her head flopped onto her chest.

Suddenly, a brilliant white light shone nearby, chasing away the darkness as if it were alive. Alanna's eyes opened a crack, and the light dimmed slightly. Reaching out with one hand, she scrabbled for the sword, and picked it up by the blade.

Turning to look behind her, she could see the entrance to her underground prison. Lightning flashed, and –

A sharp scream sounded loudly, and Alanna woke up with a jolt. Linnet stood over her, tears pouring down her cheeks as she tried in vain to lever Alanna's bloody fingers away from the sword they clutched.

Alanna looked down at it in surprise, but didn't let go until Scrap hopped onto her bed and bit down sharply on her wrist. Looking at the little black kitten in an accusing manner, Alanna nursed the bite mark on her wrist, and allowed Linnet to bandage her fingers once she'd stopped hyperventilating. 'You should take that to a Healer in the morning,' Linnet said, her voice forcibly level, just as the door banged open and Alex appeared, hurriedly dressed in breeches and his nightshirt with his sword drawn.

'I heard someone scream,' he said, by way of an explanation, and when he noticed the blood-soaked sheets, he looked at his godssister worriedly. 'Are you okay, Alanna?'

Alanna nodded, and Linnet quietly apologised for waking him. He smiled shakily and told her there was nothing to be sorry for. 'I was already awake. Tonight has been restless.'

Scrap yowled impatiently, and began licking the crystal buried in the sword's hilt. 'What are you going to call it?' Alex asked. 'You've bled on it now, so it's yours.'

Alanna picked up the sword in her uninjured hand and examined it closely. It was made from the lightest metal she'd ever come across, and the hilt fit her hand as if made for her. 'I dub thee Lightning,' she said solemnly, remembering the flash she'd seen before she woke, and as Alex left, leaving the rest of his questions for the morning, and Linnet went back to bed, Scrap curled up on her pillow and she heard him say quietly, Appropriate, before she was lost once again in Ganiel's domain.

-------

When Alex and his friends found Alanna the next morning, she was in the archery range, watching a few of the pages as they practiced.

'Picking up tips, Lady Alanna?' Prince Jonathan asked her, a kindly smile on his face, which she returned half-heartedly.

'Not really,' she said, just watching. 'Duke Baird says I'm not allowed to shoot a bow until my hand's properly healed. Or hold a sword.'

Gary winced, then said, 'You're still going to run away and join the Shang Order, then?'

Alanna laughed. 'No,' she told him. 'I have much less challenging ambitions these days.'

'I take it that means you're not still trying to become a Lady Knight, then?' Raoul asked her.

'Not in so many words,' she told them, though she didn't recall ever mentioning _that _dream in their presence. 'Now, if you'll excuse me,' she said to them, spotting Thom nearby, 'my brother is calling me.'


	16. Chapter 15: Rogue

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Kaaera for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank kristina, Chicken Licken, magewhisperer, On top of cloud 9, Bambolieblue, epobbp, Clair-a-net, maliaphire, winky-wink and A Phantom Moon for reviewing.

To Kaaera: Umm… no, Alanna dreamt the sword, and when she woke, the sword was real. The Goddess gave it to her (or Ganiel, I guess) _in_ the dream, so, umm…

To Chicken Licken: Umm… see explanation above.

To Clair-a-net: The dream was basically the same as the scene in the books when she's at Olau. It's how she receives Lightning.

To winky-wink: Umm… the only other real pairing will be Thom/Linnet, but that's going to be slightly twisted, because of various things that happen, which I'm not going to say anything else about.

To A Phantom Moon: I had that mental image as well. Kind of like when Raoul bursts into Kel's room in a loincloth, except sans-Buri and all those Stone Mountain people, and with Alex and Alanna instead of Kel and Raoul. (Is also very, very glad that Ralon was killed off before author started to like him)

I hope you appreciate the irony in this chapter. And also, without further ado, I give you… (drumroll, please) GEORGE!

The phrase "There are a lot of lonely men on the streets these days" comes from the Guinevere and Lancelot scene in _King Arthur:_

Lancelot: There are a lot of lonely men out there.

Guinevere: Don't worry; I won't let them rape you.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 15

Save Alanna, there was only one person who knew of Thom's suspicions about his Knight Master, and that was Linnet. In a moment of weakness, Alanna had slipped and told her everything. There were times when she regretted it, and times when she definitely didn't, and this was one of the latter.

'One of the maids told me she overheard Lady Delia saying that there's a room hidden behind the mirror in His Grace's workroom. I suppose that's probably where he's hiding everything,' she told Thom when he stopped by to give them an update on his spying work: He'd managed to get into Duke Roger's workshop under an invisibility spell while a maid was cleaning, but he hadn't found anything incriminating.

Put out, Alanna frowned, which went unnoticed by her two companions as they shared a secret look. She wondered briefly why Linnet hadn't passed the information on to her first, but then dismissed her suspicions, as the subject hadn't really come up between the two of them until now.

Later on, she threatened Thom, 'Tell me what's going on between you two, or I'll tell her about all the times you got dunked in the lake when we were little. Knowing her sense of humour, she'd find them _most_ amusing.'

Thom paled, then blushed, and finally managed to bring himself to say, 'I _like_ her, okay. Not that it's any of your business, or anything. And it's not like anything could ever happen between us anyway.'

'Why not?' Alanna demanded, hiding her surprise quickly.

'Because I'm a Lord and His Grace's squire, and she's a commoner and your maid,' her brother answered bluntly. 'The scandal would be almost as bad as if you were to marry a thief, Alanna.'

Sighing, Alanna shook her head as her Thom went back to his chores. The two of them were stubborn idiots, and she doubted she'd be able to change that easily.

-------

'You'd best watch yourself, lass,' the man said with a cheeky grin crossing his face. 'There are a lot of lonely men on the streets these days. What're you thinking anyway, being out without an escort?'

'Do you have any idea who I _am?_' Alanna snapped at him, lengthening her stride, and fuming silently when he, too, picked up his pace.

'I've a fair idea, Lady Alanna,' he answered.

Stopping dead, and catching him slightly off-guard, as he walked a few paces further before realising she'd fallen behind, she stared at him in wide-eyed shock. 'How do you know my name?' she demanded harshly.

'You'd be the one Squire Thom's always going on about. You're a lucky one, lass: That brother of yours loves you to death.'

Feeling even more suspicious, she eyed him and asked, 'If you're a friend of Thom's, then why hasn't he mentioned you?'

Smiling that same irritating, cocky grin, the man said, 'I don't imagine a friendship with the King of Thieves is something he'd want to be talking about up yonder. Even the walls have ears, you know, lass.'

Satisfied for the time being, Alanna extended her hand for him to shake, and was a little surprised when he bowed low and kissed it delicately. 'I'm George Cooper, lass. If you're ever in need of a friend to call on, just send for me at the Dancing Dove inn.'

She nodded and, with a smile, he turned and left.


	17. Chapter 16: World's Worst Romancer

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Clair-a-net for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Kaaera, kirkyturkey, winky-wink, epobbp, Elfsquire90, maliaphire and On top of cloud 9 for reviewing.

To Kaaera: Good luck! And I'd've joined in too, but I'm loaded down with schoolwork at the moment, as well as extra tutoring in History. Oh, well, maybe next year (a universal sentiment of all procrastinators).

To Elfsquire90: No, it's going to be Alex/Alanna, eventually. Sorry.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 16

At the next ball that Alanna was forced to attend, she spent the majority of her time with either Gary and Raoul or with Thom, who was there to serve Duke Roger. That was, when she wasn't dancing with Alex (which wasn't often), who'd asked her to dance a grand total of six times, probably on his father's orders.

'I'll get us drinks,' he said when she mentioned that she was hot, seemingly reluctant to let her out of his sight. Sighing, she told him she'd wait in the rose garden, and, grabbing Thom as soon as her godsbrother had turned his back, a furious blush gracing his cheeks, she dragged him away for a hurried conversation.

'I've seen the mirror, and the locking spells, but I haven't had a chance to examine them in detail yet. I expect I'll have the power to open them, though, just not the right training, so I'll need your help, Alanna.'

'You know you don't even have to ask, Thom,' she told him, having stayed unusually quiet through his monologue.

'About what?'

The interruption was sudden and unexpected, and both twins spun around to face the intruder in alarm, only to see Alex standing there looking suspicious, with a glass of wine in each hand. 'Whose rooms have you broken into?'

He was clearly furious at Thom's lack of honour, and Alanna and her brother shared a look before she gulped and then said to Alex, '_Please_ don't tell. It's all for a good cause, I promise,' in a particularly whiny voice which she knew he always agreed to do what she said when she used, if only to get her to shut up.

'I'll be the judge of that,' he snapped, surprising Alanna slightly, though she didn't show it. Showing a temper as furious as hers, but harder to spark, he continued on to say, 'What are you doing?'

'Not here,' Thom said suddenly, cutting off Alanna's explanation before she was even sure of what she was going to say. He looked around nervously, as if expecting that someone else had been eavesdropping, too. 'We'll explain later tonight, in Alanna's rooms.'

Alanna didn't protest, Alex nodded reluctantly, and Thom slunk away, leaving the two godssiblings together. Slightly mockingly, Alex bowed to Alanna and offered his arm, 'Another dance, lady?'

Alanna plastered a fake smile on her face and curtsied in return. 'I'd be delighted,' she said.

-------

Lord Arthur looked incredibly happy when he saw his godsdaughter and his only son come in from the rose garden, arm in arm. 'He's hoping we'll fall in love and then get married, isn't he?' Alanna asked drily. 'Is that why he keeps telling you to ask me to the balls?'

Alex scowled, and his eyes flashed dangerously. 'Father might hope it'll happen, but he'd never try to _make_ us fall in love,' he said.

Frowning, Alanna merely replied, 'I didn't mean for it to sound like _that_. It was only a question.'

Alex didn't answer her, and their next dance was even more stiff and formal than the last six had been, with Alex abandoning his partner in favour of Prince Jonathan as soon as it was over. Once again, Alanna faded into the background near where Raoul was hiding, having escaped from Gary's matchmaking tendencies.

'Romance,' Raoul said to her despairingly when she took a seat next to him: 'It ruins everything. And my dear friend Alex seems to be the worst romancer I've ever come across, Lady Alanna, and that's including myself.'

Alanna rolled her eyes, but didn't bother to enlighten him to the fact that Alex was _not_ in love with her, preferring to let him have his delusions, for now, at least.


	18. Chapter 17: Shatter, Shatter

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank On top of cloud 9, Kaaera, miss-mags-ak, Elfsqiure90, maliaphire, Clair-a-net and winky-wink for reviewing.

To maliaphire: Not exactly…

To On top of cloud 9: He's not really mad; he's just on edge, and snapping at her about the tiniest things.

To Elfsquire90: 'Sokay.

To Clair-a-net: Uh-huh. (Grins)

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 17

The time she spent waiting for Alex after the ball were possibly the most agonising three hours Alanna had ever endured. Though she didn't quite know why, the idea of her godsbrother not accepting their explanation was torture.

She nibbled anxiously on her fingernails, and Thom, frowning, looked up from where he was reclining in a chair, his nose previously having been buried in one of the texts she'd brought with her from the convent. 'Oh, honestly, Alanna, do stop it,' he snapped. 'I don't see why it matters so much to you, anyway: If what you've told me is true, he's always hated you, and I don't see how this business will affect that.'

Alanna forcibly removed her nails from her teeth and nestled them in her lap, failing to dignify her brother's comment with any other response.

'It'll be okay, 'Lan,' Linnet said quietly, her informality earning a slightly surprised look from Thom, who then promptly returned his attention to his book.

Alanna looked over in her friend's direction, and nodded, gulping and offering a shaky grin. 'Yes, I know.'

-------

'You have ten minutes. Explain.'

Alex looked rather intimidating as he scowled furiously at the three figures in the room, and Alanna felt her heart shattering into a thousand tiny shards in her chest. 'After the Sweating Sickness,' Alanna said, tripping over her sandpaper-dry tongue, 'Master Si-Cham taught us about magical plagues. We made a list, and there were only three living sorcerers who were powerful enough to send it, and only one of them would have had a motive.'

She paused, gathering her courage, because she knew that, while Alex hadn't been chosen as Duke Roger's squire, her godsbrother was still fond of the Prince's cousin. 'Roger of Conté. And he's definitely powerful enough to have sent it from Carthak.'

Alex looked between Alanna, Thom and Linnet, disbelieving. 'You can't be serious about this,' he said finally. 'Duke Roger would _never_ harm Jon. You _know_ that, Trebond.'

This final statement was addressed to Thom, whom Alanna supposed that Alex thought would be angered by this slight to his knight master's honour. However, it seemed Alex was to be disappointed, because Thom merely replied, 'I never trusted him. And Duke Baird agrees that His Grace is the most likely suspect.'

Correctly interpreting the new look that had appeared on Alex's face, he finished off by saying, 'There's not even the _slightest_ possibility that the Sweating Sickness was caused by anything other than the Gift.'

Alex swallowed and then nodded, looking dejected. Unsurprisingly, considering that quite a few of his illusions about the Conté duke had just been shattered, even as Alanna's shattered heart seemed to be knitting itself back together now that he was no longer looking at her with something akin to disgust filling his eyes.

'Can I help?' Alex asked, sighing.

Surprised, Thom looked at him. 'You needn't feel you must, as long as you swear not to tell anyone what we're doing.'

'I want to help,' Alex insisted, his body tensing and a muscle beginning to twitch in his jaw.

'Oh, fine,' Alanna's brother said, closing his book and placing it on the dresser. 'But still, you must swear not to reveal our plans.'

'On what?'

Thom looked at his sister questioningly. Licking her lips, she answered Alex's question herself and prepared herself for the shock she'd see in her godsbrother's expression. 'On your mother's grave,' she said.

And as for the look on Alex's face, Alanna needn't have bothered with preparation, because the knight had obviously anticipated her.


	19. Chapter 18: Burning Coals

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank FairyQilan, On top of cloud 9, Dumbledore's Heir, Elfsquire90, anonymous girl, maliaphire, Kaaera and winky-wink for reviewing.

To Kaaera: How's the NaNoWriMo going?

To On top of cloud 9: Uh-huh.

To maliaphire: In-Denial!Alanna is so fun to write. And she doesn't even realise it yet (author gets a slightly insane look in her eyes).

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 18

As Thom had duties, and Linnet had opted to stay behind and work on Alanna's hemlines, it was Alex who ended up with the duty of escorting his godssister into the Lower City on her newest mission: the recruitment of George Cooper, who somehow seemed to know everything that went on everywhere.

Of course, this would have the unfortunate side-effect of having to introduce the thief – for she was sure that that was what he was – to Alex, who was quite possibly the most determined thief-hater whom Alanna had ever had the pleasure (or not, depending) of meeting.

'Where are we going, again?' Alex asked, shortening his stride so that Alanna could keep up with him.

'The Dancing Dove,' was Alanna's reply. 'We're paying a surprise visit to an acquaintance of mine.'

Alex frowned, but didn't offer any response other than a brief "oh". That is, until they actually arrived at the _Dove_, when he stopped dead and said to Alanna, 'This is a thieves' place, Alanna.'

'I guessed,' Alanna told him ambiguously, and opened the door to enter. Alex had no choice but to follow.

-------

'Lady Alanna!' came the joyous call from a table by the hearth. She and Alex both turned, and Alanna smiled when she saw George smiling at her lop-sidedly and raising a hand in greeting.

'Who's this?' he asked, nodding to Alex, who stood a step behind her, staring at George with something akin to suppressed rage.

'You mean you don't know?' Alanna teased, neglecting to notice her godsbrother's expression until she turned to him and said, 'Alex, this is George. George, Al- Alex, are you okay?'

Alex seemed to swallow his tongue, and the biting (and probably rude) comeback that was undoubtedly on the tip of it, and finally managed to say, 'I'm fine.'

Alanna nodded and continued the introductions. 'George, this is Alex of Tirragen, my godsbrother.'

'Pleasure to meet you,' Alex said, though both George and Alanna could see that he clearly wasn't.

But Alanna ignored Alex. Addressing George, she said, 'We need your help.' And George smiled.

-------

Briefly taking a break from fencing practice, Alanna leant back against the outside wall of the armoury. Alex had disappeared for the moment, to fetch a bandage she could use to patch the cut on her arm before she could get it seen to. Lightning lay abandoned on the ground: she had asked Alex only the previous evening if he would deign to teach her to fence.

And then she felt a strange presence, and she looked up to meet the forest green eyes of the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen.

Panicking, she immediately stood to attention. 'Ma'am,' she stuttered, hoping that the lady wouldn't think her uncivilised for wearing men's clothing and padded armour. The stranger merely smiled.

'Peace, my daughter,' she greeted, and Alanna's eyes widened, realising who she was. 'I am glad to see you have decided to do something about your fears.'

'Fears?' Alanna asked dumbly, the knowledge of them temporarily fleeing to the deepest recesses of her brain.

'Your fear of the Duke of Conté,' the Goddess clarified. 'And your fear for your brother, when he has to take the Ordeal of Knighthood come midwinter after next.'

Alanna's mouth made an o-shape, finally registering what the Goddess was trying to tell her. However, she scowled at the next remark.

The Goddess looked at her slyly. 'Your fear of love,' she said.

'I am _not _afraid of _love,_' Alanna snapped, and then, realising what she'd said, slapped a hand over her mouth in shock.

The Goddess laughed. 'Do not fear _me_, my daughter. You fear love, though you may not realise it: you fear the love of George Cooper, and of Alexander. You even fear the love of Lord Arthur, who only wants to look after you. But I trust that you will get move past it, in time.'

Alanna nodded, staring at the ground, still ashamed of what she'd said earlier, and the Goddess opened her hand and placed a glowing coal inside it, though Alanna was surprised to find it cool to the touch. 'The Small One will watch over you – Scrap, you call him – and he will help you through the trials ahead. As will my token: wear it, and be brave.'

And then she was gone, and Alanna was left staring down at the coal in her hand. 'When did you get _that_?' Alex asked in distaste, seeing it as he rejoined her.

'It was a gift from a stranger,' was Alanna's only response.


	20. Chapter 19: Death in the Palace

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to maliaphire for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank On top of cloud 9, bellachaos, Kaaera, moon,gates,slaying, epobbp and winky-wink for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 19

It wasn't until Midwinter that the Queen fell ill. Thom and Duke Baird were both called in to try to heal her, and, naturally, Alanna insisted on helping. Holding her threaded coal necklace tightly as she prayed to the Goddess for Queen Lianne's recovery, she was startled to see, when she opened her eyes, that the Queen was coated in a sheet of deep orange fire.

Jerking backwards in alarm, she released the coal and blinked a few times. The fire was gone.

Had she just imagined it? Alanna didn't think so. And she definitely knew she'd seen that shade of Gift-fire before.

'I'm afraid that I won't be able to help, Your Majesty,' Duke Baird said regretfully to the King, shaking his head. 'She seems to have become resistant to magical healing, though I don't know how.'

Alanna frowned. So did Thom. King Roald and Prince Jonathan looked as if they were about to cry. Thankfully, the two monarchs refrained from doing so, and spared the twins a lot of awkwardness in the process.

'What is the magic doing?' Alanna asked the Duke, and he looked at her, startled.

'Magic, Lady Alanna?' he asked in bafflement.

'I… er… nothing,' she said, blushing. 'I can't see it anymore, anyway. I was probably just seeing things.'

The King, the Prince, the Duke and her brother all regarded her suspiciously. 'What did you see, Lady Alanna?' King Roald asked insistently.

Alanna frowned. 'It,' she said haltingly, 'it looked liked a sheet of orange fire.'

-------

It was a while before Alanna realised where she'd seen that particular shade of orange fire before, but by that time, it was too late to do anything about it. And no one was likely to believe her anyway, so the knowledge of Duke Roger's murder of Queen Lianne stayed firmly within her own small circle – Alanna herself, Linnet, Thom, Alex and George.

The thief was proving to be a useful ally, despite Alex's misgivings. So far, he had managed to pass several tidbits of useful information to Alanna via Stefan the hostler, from his network of spies which spanned through several countries. Tusaine had backed down from the idea of winning back the Drell valley, but they were still very resentful of Tortall's occupation of the area; Scanra was a hostile as ever; Tyra and Galla, however, were firm members of the alliance, and his spies couldn't get anywhere near the Bazhir tribes, and those that did were usually never heard from again.

It was the last bit of information that Alanna found the most intriguing, and she silently vowed to herself to someday visit the Great Southern Desert, and the Bazhir city of Persopolis.

'You're saying the country is in the hands of Prince Jonathan?' Alanna asked her godsbrother when he stopped by to visit her after a meeting with the Prince and his other friends.

Alex nodded, and Alanna shook her head. The King was taking his wife's death even harder than Alanna had expected, and _that_, she knew, was something she ought to worry about.


	21. Chapter 20: A Game of Chess

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank summerbluez, Clair-a-net, On top of cloud 9 and Coeur Casse for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 20

Alanna stared down at the chessboard and then moved one of her knights, taking one of her opponent's pawns. She was somehow unsurprised to see the Trebond coat-of-arms resting on the shields of both her white knights. She looked up at her opponent.

_Roger of Conté smiled at her from across the board, and then his hand twitched towards his bishop. Alanna's eyes flickered back to the game, and she watched in horror as Roger's moved his bishop to take her king. The white king screamed with Jonathan's voice._

Alanna woke up breathing heavily, and then started as a light flickered on in her bathroom. 'Do you need anything?' Linnet asked, peering around the door, but she left when Alanna shook her head, only saying, 'Maybe you should speak to Sir Alexander, or your brother, Lady.'

Alanna nodded, not really taking in her words until a while later, when she slipped out of bed, and decided to take her maid's advice, for once.

Usually in these circumstances, she would go to either Thom or Lord Arthur; they being the only comforting presences in her life who had also been constants. But neither of them were the people she needed now.

'Alex?' she hissed, entering his chambers quietly. 'Alex, are you awake?'

'If I wasn't before, then I am now,' came the groggy reply from the bed. 'What do you want, Alanna?'

'Do you know where I could find a dream interpreter in the city?' she asked.

'Not at this hour,' was his reply. He shuffled about for a moment, and then lit a candle to see her. 'You look dead on your feet, Alanna,' he told her, looking concerned. 'You can spend the rest of the night here, and we'll look for a dream interpreter in the morning.'

'Don't be silly,' Alanna managed to say between yawns, 'I can't sleep here: there's only one bed.'

Alex rolled his eyes. 'So we'll share,' he said, 'or I'll sleep on the floor. Your choice.'

Alanna shrugged, and let her godsbrother steer her towards the bed and tuck her in. Somewhere in her subconscious, she sleepily acknowledged him sliding in beside her, and she curled herself into his embrace.

-------

'Alanna?' Alex said uncertainly when she woke to find herself staring into his dark brown eyes. 'What's going on? With us, I mean.'

She blinked, then raised an eyebrow. 'You mean apart from Raoul reckoning that we're secretly in love with each other?'

'You- you're _not_, then?' Alex asked, something flickering in his eyes.

Alanna snorted. 'Don't be stupid,' she said. 'Why d'you ask?'

Alex shrugged, carefully avoiding her eyes. 'I just wanted to make sure,' he told her.

'Fair enough,' Alanna said, and slipped out of the bed, only to remember that she was still in Alex's chambers. She flushed. 'I have to go,' she told him hurriedly. 'They'll think the most _awful_ things if anyone finds me here. And Linnet will panic if she wakes to find me gone.'

She hurried away, only stopping briefly to pick up her candle, and Alex was left staring after her with a wounded expression.


	22. Chapter 21: Dream Interpretation

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Contorce for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank On top of cloud 9, killing you with umbrellas, SaNgUiNe SiStaR, Dumbledore's Heir, Elfsquire90, Lady of Trebond, Clair-a-net, Susan, Jaid Ziaen, Coeur Casse and epobbp for reviewing.

The book mentioned in this chapter actually exists, and all the information on dream interpretation was obtained from it. _The Complete Book of Dreams_, by Edwin Raphael.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 21

'What on _earth_ was that about, sister, dearest?' Thom drawled as Alex hurriedly exited the palace library upon the twins' arrival.

Alanna shrugged. 'Don't ask me,' she answered. 'He's been like that all week.'

Her brother arched one ginger eyebrow. 'Is that so?' he asked rhetorically, clearly seeing something more than a general love of being confusing in Alex's behaviour. Alanna merely gave him a sidelong glance, rolled her eyes, and then began to search for the book she needed.

She knew she should have done this a while ago, but she had been busy: fencing practice with Alex – the only time she could get anywhere near him nowadays – was not so frequent as it had been, but it still occurred; she and Thom were spending increasing amounts of time together, working on various spells for protection, scrying, offense, etc; and she had also the general trivialities of court life to consider.

So it was only now that she found herself with enough free time on her hands to go searching for books on dream interpretation. The task was simple enough, and she soon dragged a comprehensive-looking – if rather thick – text off the shelf: _The Complete Booke of Dreames_, by Edwin Raphael.

Alanna already knew from her visit with Alex to the dream interpreter, that the chessboard represented a field set for battle, and an argument with an acquaintance; Roger's smile represented good luck; Roger's bishop represented the sudden death of a friend or relative – and this part she was particularly worried about; and the Trebond coat-of-arms stood for protection from a powerful friend. What she didn't know, was what Prince Jonathan's presence as the White King was supposed to mean.

She looked up "King", and found nothing of use, and then she looked up "Prince", and found nothing there either. Sighing, she flipped to her last resort.

MONARCH: To dream of your sovereign ruler is a sign of difficulties which can be overcome with hard work.

_Better_, she thought, supposing that Jonathan _almost_ counted as her sovereign ruler, considering the king's condition after his wife's death.

And now all she needed to do was string these omens together.

-------

One of her friends or relatives was going to die: that much was simple enough. The other clues made a rather more complicated picture.

The situation with Roger was about to turn violent, and the battle would include an argument between her and someone she knew (Alanna knew an awful lot of people, though, so this wasn't really much use to her). She would have luck during the dispute, and she would be protected by a powerful friend. It would be difficult, but she would succeed if she worked hard.

'It didn't actually make any difference whether I knew this or not, did it?' Alanna asked Thom drily.

He shook his head: 'So it would seem,' he said. 'Though the heads-up about that death could come in handy.'

Alanna nodded, making a mental note to keep a closer watch on her friends.


	23. Chapter 22: Conspiracy of Five

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank nicolerenea, ritsutsure2930, killing u with umbrellas, On top of cloud 9, maliaphire, vicky0958, Elfsquire90, LarkBark, Jaid Ziaen, Dumbledore's Heir, Tiraspy, Clair-a-net and Coeur Casse for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 22

'Block, Alanna!' Alex yelled at her as his blunt practice sword touched her padded breastplate, finally breaking his silence. 'If you don't learn to block properly, then you'll _never_ be a competent swordsman- sorry: I mean swords_woman_, of course.'

Alanna blinked, and then blinked again, before the corner of her mouth twitched into a smile. 'If I'd known that this was all it would take to get you talking to me again, I'd've done it a long time ago.'

Alex stared at her blankly for a moment, and then swallowed, hefting his sword up again and saying sharply, 'Now, _block_.'

The two practice swords met with a metallic clang, and Alex half-smiled. 'Better,' he said. 'Now you just need to keep doing that until it's second nature.'

Alanna nodded, and raised her sword again.

-------

The next time Alanna saw George, he had travelled up to the palace from the _Dove_, risking his freedom for a chance to speak with her and her co-conspirators in person. Alanna was touched.

It had taken her the best part of an hour to gather everyone together in her chambers – Alex, naturally, had been in the practice courts, and Linnet had already been in Alanna's rooms, letting down one of her friend's hemlines, but she took a while trying to find Thom, and eventually managed to locate him in the stables: the last place she'd expect him to be. 'Okay, so what's the news, George?' she asked, taking a seat on her bed, and yanking Thom's arm so he sat down next to her.

'His Grace was in the town last night,' he said, his steady hazel eyes boring into her own purple ones. 'He was trying to recruit some of my people. 'Fingers managed to get word to me, and he disappeared when I came downstairs, but we don't know how many of my people he's got on his side now.'

There was silence for a moment, while the group pondered the importance of this news, until Alex broke it by saying, 'What do you think he wanted with them?'

'The only reason I can come up with is that, somehow, he knows that you're onto him. And he knows that I'm involved.'

Thom frowned. 'Which would mean that he's most likely trying to influence your information sources, and feed us false information _through_ you, right?'

George nodded, and Alanna echoed everyone's thoughts when she said simply, 'This is _not_ good.'

'We're going to have to act, aren't we?' Alex asked. 'And soon. Because he knows about us. And he knows that we know that _he_ knows.'

'It definitely seems that way,' Thom agreed.

They sat, again, in silence, until Linnet said hesitantly, 'Lord Thom? Have you been able to get into his workroom yet?'

Thom shook his head. 'I can probably do that tonight, though.'

Alanna nodded. 'Good,' she said. 'Bring anything you find back here. We'll be waiting.'

Thom nodded, and then got to his feet and left the room. 'Wish me luck,' he muttered on his way out, and Alanna made the gods-sign over her heart.

'I'll see you soon,' she said.


	24. Chapter 23: Encountering Setbacks

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Coeur Casse for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank c., Tortalls Dragon, On top of cloud 9, Starlight Chibi-chan, epobbp, nicolerenea, Gretta99, xx.TOMWELLING.xx, Jaid Ziaen, Tiraspy and Clair-a-net for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 23

It wasn't until it was almost morning that Alanna realised something was wrong. She woke to see Linnet's face hovering anxiously above her own, a shawl draped across her shoulders and a lit candle in one hand.

'Duke Baird has sent for you, 'Lan,' she said. 'I don't know what's happened, but apparently it's got something to do with Lord Thom.'

Upon closer inspection, Alanna could see that her friend's eyes were half-closed with weariness, but her fingers wouldn't stay still, tugging at her shawl in a vain attempt to hide her nervousness. And then her words began to sink into Alanna's tired brain.

'Is he okay?' she asked, sitting up and tumbling out of bed and into a pair of slippers.

Linnet shrugged. 'I don't know,' she repeated. 'I don't know anything about it.'

Alanna shrugged on a warm cloak over her nightgown, seized Linnet's wrist, and dragged her out of the room, making with all possible speed towards the infirmary.

-------

To be honest, Linnet seemed far more upset about this incident than Alanna did, and the redhead wasn't really particularly surprised, considering that way her maid and her brother had been acting around each other for the past few weeks. True, his condition was worrying, and its sudden nature suggested something far more sinister than just chance, but he was stable, and he would probably wake fully from this quasi-coma in a month or so.

More troubling was the fact that they now had no way of knowing what Duke Roger might be planning next. And that they would now need somebody else – somebody who would undoubtedly cause far more suspicion – to break into the His Grace's rooms and obtain evidence of his role in the Queen's murder.

Linnet had taken a seat by the infirmary door, and Alanna was sat directly next to Thom's cot. Duke Baird himself was stood next to His Grace of Conté, attempting to explain the incident to Alanna over the racket that Brennan was causing as he screamed for his father from inside Duke Baird's rooms. Brennan of Queenscove had lungs the metaphorical size of a mountain.

'He will have to stay here for a short time after his recovery,' Baird said, wincing when his youngest son screamed again, 'for observation and questioning. This may well be some kind of new epidemic, you see: I shall have to examine his condition most carefully.'

Alanna nodded mutely to show that she understood, and when Duke Baird and Duke Roger were both turned away, she cast the latter of the two a suspicious glance, and then got to her feet, brushing imaginary lint off her nightgown.

'Stay with him,' she said to Linnet. 'And help Duke Baird.' Passing her friend on her way to the door, she placed a hand on her shoulder, and finished with a muttered, 'Thom needs you far more than I do right now.'

Linnet nodded blearily, and didn't say a word as Alanna swept out of the infirmary, and back to her chambers.


	25. Chapter 24: A New Plan

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to epobbp for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank azn pride alwayz, On top of cloud 9, Shinyobjectslover, nicolerenea and Starlight Chibi-chan for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 24

_You know what you must do now, do you not?_ Scrap asked her, waving his tail as he lay on her bed.

Alanna, having just opened the door, blinked in surprise, and then nodded. She sat down next to him, bit her lip, and then sighed. 'Will you help me?' she said finally.

The cat gave a quiet mewl of agreement, and she offered him a soft smile, reaching over to scratch behind his ears.

There was a sudden click, from the door shutting, and when Alanna looked up, Alex was standing before her. 'You were talking to the cat,' he observed, his voice oddly strangled.

Alanna blinked, and then let out a startled laugh. 'And he was talking back,' she said, not expecting him to believe a word of it. But he merely nodded, and then paced over to her window, looking out over the courtyard.

There was a moment of silence, before Alex blurted out, 'I heard about what happened to your brother.'

'Oh?' Alanna prompted him to continue.

'Um… Jon told me. He heard it from one of the maids. You- you don't mind, do you? Only that, the whole palace probably knows by now.'

She shook her head, and the muscles in Alex's back loosened up slightly.

'What are you going to do, now?' he asked quietly.

Alanna hesitated before telling him, 'Exactly what Thom did.'

'Oh,' was her godsbrother's initial response, and then, 'There's a banquet tomorrow evening. I'll cover for you, if you want to disappear.'

It was strange, the sense of relief that came over her at his words, and a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth as she rose to come over and stand beside him. 'Thank you,' she said, and he nodded.

-------

She attended the first part of the banquet – sat between Alex and Gary, and made small talk with Cythera of Elden, who was attending as Gary's date.

But the older girl's conversation grew tiring after a while. After all, there was only so much time one could spent talking about dress materials, and the various eligible bachelors at Court. And both Alex and Gary were beginning to shift uncomfortably by the time Cythera got 'round to mentioning Prince Jonathan.

_Even if she _is_ nice_, Alanna thought with an inward sigh, _Lady Cythera is an awful gossip_.

Cythera, noticing her date's behaviour, put a hand up, covering her mouth as she giggled slightly. 'Oh dear,' she said, looking at Alanna with dancing eyes, 'I think we must have embarrassed them, Lady Alanna.'

Alanna nodded in agreement, but effectively ended their conversation there by rising from her seat and making a few feeble excuses to her companions. She was going, she claimed, to the toilet. She shared a significant glance with Alex, who nodded, and then left the hall.

Scrap was waiting for her outside the doors, looking elegantly bored. He cast her a scathing look, as if to say, "What took you so long?" and then flicked his tail and led her away.


	26. Chapter 25: The Lady in the Fountain

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to On top of cloud 9 for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Goddess of Reality, excited, Clair-a-net and Starlight Chibi-chan for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 25

Breaking into Duke Roger's rooms was as difficult as Alanna had predicted it would be – she expected that he had upped his security after finding Thom poking around –, but with Scrap licking her face and mewling in her ear, the spells around the doorway didn't knock her unconscious for long.

Once inside, she located the mirror with relative ease – it was large, and highly decorated, and altogether appropriate for the chambers of somebody as highly respected and vain as the Duke. She snickered slightly to herself, before surrounding her hands with her Gift, and pushing it to the side-

Only to lurch unceremoniously to one side and stumble to the floor, as she dodged a fire-charm that had been set just behind it.

'Scrap,' she said, her voice strained, 'are there any _more _of these things in there?'

"_These things"?_ Scrap replied, and she could almost hear the tiny cat clucking in disapproval, before he finally answered, _The room is covered in them – you'll be able to see them, too, if you hold on to your necklace._

Alanna blinked, suddenly remembering the ember stone around her neck, and she raised her hand to grab it. Sure enough, Duke Roger's workshop was covered in tiny orange Gift-fires, looking to be keyed in to his own Gift, and set to attack anyone else.

She gulped, but eventually managed to lever herself to her feet, and take a step into the workshop – carefully avoiding the Gift-fires that littered the floor.

There was a small, ornamental fountain in the corner of the room, and a sack lay beside it. Alanna made in that direction, admiring the craftwork that had gone into it, before noting a small figure in the water. She lifted it up delicately – it was a wax model of the queen; a perfect imitation.

She drew a sharp breath as the spell he'd been using came to her, and then looked inside the sack, made from some kind of sheer veil. Inside, as she had expected, were several more figures, of the King, and Prince Jonathan, and most of the higher-up Lords and Ladies of the Court. There were even, she noted, tiny figures of Thom and Alex – though there wasn't one of her.

Taking a deep breath, Alanna placed the model of the Queen inside the bag, and picked it up, gripping the neck tightly. 'Let's go,' she said to Scrap, waiting by the mirror, before leaving the room.

-------

Alex, doing an extremely poor job of hiding his worry, had almost chewed a hole in his lower lip when Alanna came across him, waiting for her outside the banquet hall. He leapt to his feet upon seeing her, and ran his eyes up and down her body, as if checking for injuries.

'You're okay?' he finally managed to squeak out, and she nodded, still frowning as she thought of her discovery. 'And you found something?'

Alanna nodded again, her eyes hardening and her mouth forming a straight, stubborn line. 'Will you back me up?' she asked him.

Alex raised his arm slightly, and began to reach out to place a hand on her shoulder, before thinking better of it. 'Of course I will,' he said.


	27. Chapter 26: Confronting the Duke

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to elfsquire90 for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Starlight Chibi-chan, Matilda Suzanne (thrice, because I think I forgot to thank you for the last two chapters – sorry!), TIra, Lady-Seraya, Clair-a-net, Goddess of Reality, epobbp, niaomi and On top of cloud 9 for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 26

'I did a dishonourable thing tonight,' Alanna said to the King, standing before his seat in the banquet hall, and curtsying as deeply as propriety demanded. Alex stood by her side, and slightly backwards, almost as if her were her bodyguard. 'I broke into a man's rooms.'

Duke Roger, she noted, was staring at the bag in abject horror, obviously understanding what she was about to say. She froze, looking into his eyes, but was snapped out of her daze by Scrap, who dug his claws painfully into her leg.

'But- but what I thought to find; what I _did_ find, was far worse, your Majesty,' she managed to continue, rather breathlessly. She could feel Alex's concerned gaze on the back of her neck when she shakily raised her arm, and placed the sack on the table. 'Do you know what this is, your Grace?'

The Conté Duke's face was pasty, but his eyes were dark – Alanna gulped slightly, hearing Alex's hand move to his sword, when the Duke scowled at her.

'It seems to be a veil, my Lady,' he said slightly mockingly – though, despite everything, his voice was steady. 'Sewn into a bag.'

Alanna nodded, and then reached out and un-knotted the neck. Wax figurines spilt over the table, the model of the Queen looking particularly bedraggled next to the others, after being held underwater for so long.

King Roald's knuckles whitened as he tightened his hold on the edge of the table. 'Where did you find these?' he asked Alanna tersely.

Alanna was frozen; she couldn't answer. There was silence in the hall, before somebody cleared their throat. 'Perhaps,' Alex spoke up boldly, 'you ought to be addressing that question to your nephew.'

The congregation turned, as a whole, to see Duke Roger slamming his hands down on the table, as he stood up in rage. 'Lies,' he spat. 'You made them yourself, did you not – you and your gods-cursed brother. Confess!'

'Enough,' the King declared, placing a hand on his nephew's arm, and looking between Alanna's wide eyes and Alex's hand, ready to draw his sword at any moment. 'Lady Alanna, you may have a week to select a champion, and you may choose their weapon. This will be settled in a duel – the gods will know which one of you is telling the truth.'

-------

By the next morning, the whole palace was buzzing with the news – Alanna had been approached with three offers to defend her honour before she'd even eaten her breakfast. And all three of them had been turned away.

She ate in the infirmary with Alex and Linnet, while she was there to check up on Thom's progress – Duke Baird had greeted her with a relieved smile, and stated happily that her brother's condition was much improved since the previous evening.

Linnet, especially, looked delighted at the news. Her eyes were bright, and her cheeks were tinged pink when she smiled; a great change from her usual, sombre countenance. 'Will Sir Alexander be your champion?' she said eventually, when the conversation moved to the duel.

Alex looked up, and said, 'I would be happy to, Alanna.'

Alanna, however, shook her head. 'No,' she told the pair of them. 'This is my fight – I'll duel him myself.'


	28. Chapter 27: George's Visit

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Tipry for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank sabriellyn, Matilda Suzanne, On top of cloud 9, Lady-Seraya, balinnka, Clair-a-net, Starlight Chibi-chank, ravenmorrigan, miadragonlover, stinki, Maraudess, BlackWidow12, Klehmenteen, epobbp and Crystalbalde Warrior for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 27

The announcement caused – as expected – a few moments of stunned silence, and then several loud objections – mainly from Alex.

'I'm not going to change my mind,' Alanna said eventually, after Alex and Linnet had finally quietened. 'I've already decided, and I should be able to manage if I choose to use our Gifts.'

Alex stood abruptly, and, seizing Alanna's wrist, dragged her bodily from the infirmary – though, to be honest, she didn't put up all that much of a fight about it. 'Duke Roger is one of the most powerful mages in the world – strong enough, if your theory's right, to send the sweating sickness, all the way from _Carthak_. How, exactly, do you plan to face him with _your_ Gift?'

'You're calling me insane, aren't you?' Alanna said, her voice tight as she pointedly avoided the question.

'Well, you're certainly _behaving_ like a madwoman.'

Alanna's mouth formed a stubborn line, and her eyes flashed. 'This conversation is _over_, Alexander,' she said sharply, and stormed away before she could see the hurt expression on his face.

-------

'I heard about this half-baked plan of yours, lass. You feel like letting me in on the details?'

'George,' Alanna deadpanned, seeing the thief lounging against her doorframe. Linnet hovered behind him, fidgeting anxiously, which solved the mystery of how he'd managed to get passed the locked door – though, of course, George rarely needed to be let in.

He grinned. 'That's me.'

Alanna propped herself up on the bed, sighing. 'Stefan told you, I presume,' she said.

'Alex, actually.' George's response came shortly. 'He seemed quite down – any idea why that is, lass?'

She narrowed her eyes, preparing herself to snap, but, at the last moment, managed to check her tongue. 'We fought,' she told him, 'over my wanting to duel his Grace myself.'

George nodded sagely to himself, and Alanna got the impression that he'd already known _exactly_ why Alex was out-of-sorts. _But it was his own fault,_ she told herself, feeling unjustifiably guilty.

A long silence stretched out between the two, and Linnet mumbled a quick apology before excusing herself, so that she could return to the infirmary. Alanna flopped backwards onto the bed again, and George sauntered inside uninvited, and perched himself on the windowsill.

'He – Duke Roger, that is. He may have power, but he doesn't have Thom. If I borrow Thom's Gift, and add it to my own, I'll have more power than he does.'

George looked over and regarded her carefully. 'I've got some spell books that're worth a pretty penny, they're so rare. You could borrow them for a while, if you like.'

Alanna closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and then getting to her feet and hugging him tightly. 'Thank you,' she managed to say, before she began to cry.


	29. Chapter 28: Less than Perfect

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to crazylittlefox for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Clair-a-net, Eclipsa, Bobboky and you dontwant2no (twice) for reviewing.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Chapter 28

Alanna had never really been fond of forgiveness, as an ideal, but even she agreed, eventually, that she was being rather extreme – Alex's silent treatment lasted, in total, for three days.

Over this period, while she pored over the books that George had brought over for her – and Alex spent every day in the training yards, taking his temper out on the pages and squires –, she was visited at least twice a day by Gary, who seemed to have a fondness for lingering in doorways and making useless and uninteresting comments about swordplay.

On the last occasion, he'd bent down, rapped her soundly on the head, and asked how to avoid a direct thrust to the heart.

'Move?' Alanna had responded as she turned the page of her book, briefly glancing up at him from her position on the floor and scowling, her irritation plain.

Gary laughed, and then wandered away again, but not before saying, 'Are you taking Lightning with you to your duel?'

'No,' was the answer, short and sweet.

There was a sombre silence, and Alanna looked up at him again, only to see him frowning. 'You should,' he said eventually. 'And you should ask Alex to carry on with your fencing lessons, too – you never know when you might need them.'

Alanna had merely snorted, and dismissed the encounter as just another of the knight's oddities.

However, it had managed to wedge itself into her memory – which was why, the next morning, she found herself making her way down to the training yards, dressed in a tunic and breeches, and seating herself on a bench next to the armoury.

-------

When Alex finally came down, about half an hour later, he noticed her immediately, and regarded her warily for a moment, before she decided to speak.

'I'm not crazy,' she said defensively.

Alex shrugged. 'I know,' he said. 'But you do stupid things a lot of the time.'

Alanna resisted the urge to snap at him, and instead managed to mutter an apology.

He met her eyes surprised, and, noting her pink cheeks, flushed and hung his head. 'I- I'm sorry, too,' he stuttered out.

There was a brief silence before Alanna nodded tersely, accepting his words as what they were, and then she said, 'George lent me some books to study – I think there're some spells in there that his Grace won't know. And Gary says I need to carry on learning swordplay.'

She paused, her pride not letting her continue, but she didn't really need to, because in the next moment, Alex said, 'Do you want me to help?'

'Thanks,' Alanna replied, relieved, and Alex smiled slightly. It was, perhaps, a less than perfect exchange, but it would have to do, for now.


	30. Chapter 29: Confession

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to for being the first reviewer

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to SOPROL for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank lady knight keladry, On top of cloud 9 (twice), Dumbledore's Heir, Black-Kat-585, Tearainy, Clair-a-net, crazylittlefox, LadyCrazyMonkeyPants, Sister of Death, my-lifes-a-mess, Yabberli, TheDarknessAroundMe, Achillia Daughter of Peleus and The amyrlin seat (25 times!) for reviewing.

-- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good --

Chapter 29

_Strike, strike, jab._ Alanna attacked the sandbag in front of her with alarming vigour, drawing a small crowd of her friends as onlookers while she was absorbed in her made-up drill. She paused for a moment, her weight on her thighs and breathing heavily, and scowled at the sandbag before she noticed her company.

'You'll never get anywhere if you just keep hacking at it like that,' Alex commented when she glanced in his direction. 'Hacking works better if you have an axe.'

The small smile which she had been about to give him dropped from her face before it had even finished forming, and she glowered. 'What would you suggest, then?' she asked.

'Stab it,' he said plainly, 'and aim properly. At most, all you're doing at the moment is making your opponent annoyed.'

Alanna's scowl deepened, and she tossed Lightning at Alex with rather more force than was strictly necessary. 'You do it, then,' she said, but Alex dropped the sword almost as soon as it touched his hands, letting out a yelp.

Alanna was somewhat concerned by her godsbrother's behaviour, but her concern was overshadowed by her annoyance, and it was therefore Gary – not Alanna – who asked the obvious question. 'Are you okay, Alex?'

Lightning was lying on the ground at Alex's feet, and the surrounding crowd seemed unwilling to pick it up, so Alanna did so herself before it could gather any more dirt than it already had, listening in on Alex's answer.

Alex looked down at Lightning with no small amount of alarm, nursing his right hand in the other. 'It shocked me,' he said weakly. 'That sword doesn't like me much, does it?'

'I wonder why,' Alanna stated more than asked. Alex had been vocalising his doubts about the sword ever since Alanna first brought it along to their training sessions.

Gary sighed at their banter. 'Nobody's tried to wield Lightning but Alanna, right? It'd probably do the same thing to anyone. And didn't you two make up last week, or is this a new argument?'

Alex blushed, staring determinedly at his feet; Alanna clenched her fist around Lightning's hilt; Gary smirked, satisfied with the response.

* * *

Linnet woke Alanna on the morning of her duel, only stopping briefly to wish her luck before hurrying back to Thom's side in the infirmary. The sky was dark and dreary and spitting down rain, and it didn't look like it would be improving any time soon. Alanna shivered, feeling something ominous in the air.

She got out of bed quickly, hopping so as not to have to touch the stone-cold floor for too long; she dressed herself in loose breeches and felt armour; Alex came for her momentarily, to show her to the hall and go through a couple of warm-up exercises with her. He also took it upon himself to try to change her mind about the sudden decision she'd made the night before – that she would duel with swords instead of magic. Not that Alex thought that it would really make all that much difference in any case, since Duke Roger was a master of both magic and swordplay.

But Alanna's swordplay was still clumsy; Lightning's hilt awkward in her grip. Alanna had convinced herself that Lightning itself – and its still unknown but obviously magical properties – would be the deciding factor in the match. Alex's contrary opinion got him firmly back in Alanna's bad books (where he had been for most of their long acquaintance), but secretly she was somewhat touched by his concern for her, if only he wouldn't insist on being so superior about the matter.

At this hour, there was nobody in the duelling hall, but Alex and Alanna both knew that it would soon fill up with spectators. They got on with their exercises in silence while it was still empty, and then retreated to a low bench along one wall.

'Don't die,' Alex said very suddenly, a few minutes later. 'I mean, you're a lady, so His Grace might ease up on you a little, and you won't have an excuse for dying.'

Alanna paused for a while, considering how to respond to her godsbrother's unusual show of affection. 'I don't want him to ease up on me,' she replied.

A short silence stretched between them for a moment. 'You know that I love you, don't you?'

'I know.'

'… You're not my sister.'

'I know.'

Alex laughed without humour. 'If you live to see tomorrow, then I will marry you,' he said.

Alanna glanced at him suspiciously, and said coldly, 'Is that what goes for a proposal in Corus?'

He laughed again, this time grinning sincerely. 'You'll do fine, Alanna.'


	31. Chapter 30: A Prophecy Fulfilled

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to for being the first reviewer

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Lady Knight Keladry for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank susan, xxTunstall Chickxx, Achillia Daughter of Peleus, emikae, aznfltplyr and Eclipsa for reviewing.

Okay, so I'm going to apologise now for the long, long wait for the last chapter; thanks for putting up with me, everyone, & I'll try to update more regularly in future.

-- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good --

Chapter 30

Alanna's breath came out shakily as she and Duke Roger both bowed (Alanna rather stiffly, being more accustomed to curtsying) to the King, stating their cases. It was merely a formality, of course, since everyone present already knew what it was that Alanna had accused His Grace of doing, but for Alanna herself, the reality of the situation was finally beginning to sink in.

She could see Alex through the corner of her eye, standing apart from Gary, Raoul and Prince Jonathan, and regarding the proceedings with a vacant look in his eyes. She smiled slightly, and then straightened up as the King asked her to state her choice of weapon.

'S-' She paused, her voice catching in her throat, remembering Alex's doubts about her skill, and then her own determination. 'Sword,' she said.

His Grace didn't look at all surprised; he had probably heard rumours of her training sessions with Alex, or possibly he might have seen one first-hand. Alanna suddenly wished that she'd stuck with her original plan to duel with magic, even if she _would_ be hopelessly outclassed.

She drew Lightning from its scabbard at her waist, just as Duke Roger drew his own sword – a large, heavy thing, with a long hilt wrapped in blue and grey threads. She shuddered, feeling the sword's sinister magic, and prayed to the Goddess that Lightning's own magic would be able to withstand it.

'Begin,' the King declared, almost too soon, and the combatants began to move.

Thom had recovered somewhat since he was first brought to the infirmary. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for two days, and Duke Baird was feeling positive about his condition. It wasn't unexpected when his eyes opened slowly and he looked around the room; it was also not unexpected that he said nothing.

He did pause slightly upon seeing Linnet's empty stool by his bedside; this the first sign of recognition that he had made. But nobody saw it (except perhaps Brandon, who was in no position to tell). Both Linnet and Duke Baird had disappeared to watch Alanna's duel with Duke Roger, which had somehow become the main event of the season, and would probably occupy the whole afternoon.

So nobody was there to see Thom acknowledge Linnet's absence, and nobody was there to witness when he breathed in deeply and violently, his body going rigid. It was over within a couple of seconds, but the effects were both irreversible and devastating. Duke Baird would later say that it was a miracle that he had survived, but it would never feel like a miracle – not to the Duke and his family, and most especially not to Alanna and Linnet, the ones who loved him best.

* * *

Alanna felt it in her heart the moment it happened; a bleak emptiness where once there had been an overwhelming sense of everything that made Thom Thom. She faltered slightly in her step, and her free hand reached up unconsciously to clutch at her ember necklace for reassurance.

Duke Roger, taking advantage of her distraction, thrust forward with a jab that she just barely managed to divert away from her heart – though it left a deep scratch on her left side, and tore through her shirt – and was suddenly covered in hundreds of tiny, dancing flames. They flickered across his chest and arms, trickling away from a tiny purple jewel hanging around his neck. And as they moved further from the ring, they changed their colour from the purple of the jewel's stone to the same blood red as the rest of the flames.

Alanna moved backwards under the pressure of Duke Roger's sword, now trapped in a body lock and being hopelessly overpowered. Her eyes flickered briefly towards Linnet where she was standing in the audience, and Linnet must have read something in Alanna's gaze, because she managed to get Duke Baird's attention, and they both hurried away, just as Alanna ducked out of the body lock and dodged quickly to the side.

By now, Alanna had got a hold on her emotions, and was forcing herself to cope with her queer emptiness. Lightning, humming in her right hand, could feel the presence of Thom's Gift in every movement that Duke Roger made, and it called up Alanna's own Gift in response; magic thrummed through her body, completely out of control. It flooded down her arms and covered Lightning's blade in sheets of fire.

And Alanna stumbled backwards, releasing her necklace as Lightning wrenched itself out of her hand, flying towards the source of Thom's Gift. The pendant shattered on impact; His Grace's throat didn't fare much better.

Duke Roger's eyes were wide with shock, and his hand slackened; he dropped his sword, reaching up to touch the blood pouring from his wound. Alanna stared with a kind of numb horror as he seemed to fall to the ground in slow motion. She didn't hear the King's cry for a mage and nor did she hear his shaky declaration of her win.

Her eyes roamed among the crowd, searching for Alex, but when she eventually found him, he was by her side.


	32. Chapter 31: Mourning the Living

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Cheshire for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank jayley (twice), Clair-a-net, XtriX, On top of cloud 9 (twice), Achillia Daughter of Peleus, xxTunstall Chickxx, Eclipsa, kait1993, Lady Knight Keladry, Elfsquire90 and MoonGoddessBookworm for reviewing.

And, erm... I guess a lot of people were confused about what happened in the last chapter, but hopefully it'll be cleared up by the end of _this_ chapter- & if there're still questions afterwards, then let me know & I'll explain as best I can. But you can all rest assured that Thom's _not dead_.

-- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good --

Chapter 31

Alanna was still somewhat numb with shock when Linnet appeared in her chambers a couple of hours later with the news of Thom's condition. He was alive, and awake, and his Gift appeared to have been almost entirely leeched away. This was not so terrible as all that – after all, there were plenty of Giftless people in the world – though Alanna felt rather bitter about it. The worst part was that the breaking of the link between Thom and his Gift had caused a sort of recoil, lashing back towards the source of Thom's Gift – his mind.

Thom's mental state, Duke Baird announced sombrely – because Linnet had been too tearful to explain on her own, – had regressed to that of a small child, and he would probably remain that way for the rest of his life. He would, of course, need to be cared for, and to be in a familiar environment (Trebond apparently would not be suitable) with familiar people around him. He would return to Queenscove as soon as he was well enough to move.

The matter was explained in a matter of minutes, leaving both Alex and Alanna feeling rather dazed, and Linnet was still trying to calm herself down in a chair by Alanna's dressing table. Alanna regarded her with something like pity for a moment, and then said, 'Will you be going with him?' in a rather small voice.

Linnet looked up at her through red-rimmed eyes, surprised at the question. 'My place is by your side, milady,' she said.

Alanna glanced towards Duke Baird, who nodded, and then looked back at Linnet. 'If you would like to take care of my brother, instead, then I shouldn't mind too much.'

Swallowing, Linnet met Alanna's gaze, and then fixed it again on her hands, clasped together in her lap. 'Might… might I have some time to think about it?' she asked after a very long silence.

Alanna said nothing, and Duke Baird responded instead. 'You can have as long as it takes for Lord Thom to recover.'

Linnet nodded, still not lifting her gaze. 'Thank you,' she said simply.

--

Alex's hand was firm and reassuring on her shoulder as Alanna hugged her legs close to her body gloomily. 'His Grace will take good care of Thom,' he told her. 'He is the finest healer in the kingdom.'

Alanna nodded dully, not looking at him, but she wasn't comforted by the thought – she had known already that Duke Baird would care for Thom as he would for any of his own children. So she simply sat in her chambers, staring blankly into the firelight, and trying desperately to comprehend the idea of a Thom without his wits.

Almost absent-mindedly, she noticed Alex shifting around on the bed, so that he could sit down next to her. 'It's okay, you know,' he told her gently – his voice softer than she could ever remember it being. 'You don't have to always be so strong.'

Her grip on her breeches relaxed slightly, and she lifted her head, peering at him from behind her hair. After a moment, she released her knees completely and twisted into his embrace.

'I don't want to cry,' she said, the words muffled slightly by Alex's shirt.

'So don't,' he replied, and ignored the damp patch on his shoulder.

--

Linnet had her answer by the end of the week, and it was with a heavy heart that Alanna reluctantly helped her first friend to pack away her things, in preparation for her journey to Queenscove the following morning.

'I'm sorry,' Linnet said for what had to be the thousandth time, and Alanna tightened her jaw and swallowed heavily.

'It doesn't matter,' she replied. 'Thom needs you more than I do.'

The was silence for a moment, while the two girls knelt on the floor, staring at the small saddle-bag that contained all of Linnet's earthly possessions. And then Linnet looked up suddenly and met Alanna's eyes.

'I-' she said, stumbling slightly as she tried to find the right words. 'I only wish that-'

'I said it doesn't matter!' Alanna snapped, clenching her fists and blinking back tears. 'Just go!'

Linnet bit her lip, but didn't seem surprised by the outburst. Quiet as a mouse, she picked up her bag and got to her feet, while Alanna simply ignored her.

''Lan?' she whispered to herself a moment later; her back against Alanna's closed door. 'I wish that you would come as well.'


	33. Chapter 32: A Change

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Achillia Daughter of Peleus for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Andi, Clair-a-net, Lady Knight Keladry, xxTunstallChickxx, jayley and On top of cloud 9 for reviewing.

And also, for those reading Licorice Sticks & Aniseed Balls, I apologise, but it's been moved to second priority. Once I've finished working on this fic, I'll start on chapter 14 of LS&AB.

-- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good --

Chapter 32

'You fought with your maid.'

Alanna paused in her training – though she didn't turn around – letting her shooting-arm hang limply at her side. 'Am I not entitled to fall out with my friends?' she asked quietly.

Alex slipped down from his perch on the fence around the archery range and made his way over to her side, silently correcting her hold on her bow when he got there. For once, she took his adjustment in stride; she raised her arm, drew back another arrow, and released – yellow, just about.

'Good,' Alex said, 'but you could do better.'

She laughed humourlessly. 'And are we talking about archery now, or my choice in friends?'

Alex sighed, and peered at her cautiously before winding an arm around her shoulders – if she turned to face him, she noticed suddenly, then her head would fit quite comfortably under his chin. 'I don't know,' he answered slowly. 'The archery, probably. Or maybe both.'

'I need to get away from here. For a while, at least,' Alanna told him suddenly, and at his curious expression she said, 'It's getting cold, and it feels like there are ghosts all around.'

She waited for a few minutes for Alex to respond, and when he did, she could hear the unfamiliar hesitance in his voice. 'It'll be warm in the south,' he said quietly, 'but the ghosts will always be with you.'

A small, sad smile spread across her face, and she twisted her head around to face him. 'Thank you,' she said.

'For what?'

'For being Alex.'

He laughed – the first sincere laugh she'd heard from him in a long while – and she over the sound, she could hear the bells in the clock tower ringing for the six-o'clock supper. 'We should go inside,' he told her, smiling, but Alanna shook her head.

'The food can wait,' she said, and then raised her head to kiss him.

--

'I'm filthy, and I smell!' Alanna shouted from inside her chambers, while Alex banged incessantly on her door. 'Can't you at least wait until I've washed?'

'Father will be arriving soon, Alanna, and it would be rude if you were not there to greet him,' came the reply, 'especially considering what you're going to ask of him.'

Alanna flung the door open in a rage, and scowled at him. 'What _you're_ going to ask, you mean,' she said, but her anger dwindled slightly as she took in the hassled expression on her godsbrother's face. 'Just-' she floundered for a moment, the wind stolen from her sails somewhat, 'just let me make myself presentable. I'll be quick, I promise.'

Alex nodded, sighing. 'I'll meet you at the next bell,' he said, and then – just to emphasise the urgency of the situation, 'Hurry.'

She nodded tersely, and then closed the door firmly in his face, hoping that the water in her bath would still be warm. It wasn't, and Alanna spent the next fifteen minutes flinching at the chill as she washed and dressed herself with as much haste as she could manage, before heading out to meet Alex in the courtyard.

He was waiting for her, as promised, while discussing the journey from Tirragen with one of his father's men-at-arms, and Alanna sighed in relief to see that Lord Arthur's carriage could not have been there for more than a few minutes. Lord Arthur himself was stepping out of the carriage rather heavily – losing his dexterity in his old age – and he swore quietly as one of his joints clicked, but he smiled at his godsdaughter when he saw her, and embraced her.

'It is wonderful to see you again, Alanna,' he said. 'And you look so well, considering. I must admit, I half expected you to be locked in your chambers, refusing all visitors.'

Alanna offered him a shaky smile in response. 'Most visitors,' she said, 'but not you.'

'And my son tells me that the two of you are getting along, for once,' he said, raising an eyebrow.

She chuckled, with butterflies fluttering around her stomach. 'We've managed to find some common ground.'

'Well, when we get inside, you shall have to tell me all about it,' he said, taking her arm and leading her towards the warmth. Alex followed, just a step behind.


	34. Chapter 33: Betrothal

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Achillia Daughter of Peleus for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Clair-a-net, xxTunstall Chickxx, Fairy Lights, MoonGoddessBookworm, Gallan Princess, RumorGoddess, Lady Knight Keladry and jayley for reviewing.

Apologies again for the delay. I have no excuse. And this chapter is pretty short, but after this, all that's left is the epilogue, so there wasn't really much else to say. Thanks everyone for sticking with me, & if you have any questions, then feel free to ask.

-- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good --

Chapter 33

They had argued about it for hours, but as per usual, Alanna got her way – in a break of tradition, she would be present when Alex applied to her godsfather for her hand. Seating herself on a spare chair in Lord Arthur's antechamber, she tried to calm her erratic heartbeat, reminding herself that this was Lord Arthur's dearest wish; there was little to no chance of his refusing them.

Alex was leaning against a wall, trying to appear calm, but he gave his nerves away by wiping clammy hands on his breeches, and he was continuously turning his head towards the study door. Lord Arthur didn't appear for what felt to Alanna like a lifetime – though in actuality it was probably no longer than a few minutes – dressed in a clean white shirt and carrying two tunics for his son's appraisal.

'Which do you think is better, Alexander? I myself prefer the blue trim, but the seamstress tells me that the plainer tunic suits me better.'

Alex blinked and answered the question before even consciously registering what he was being asked, but once he did he choked on a laugh, which had no doubt been Lord Arthur's intention. Confirming Alanna's suspicion, he smiled at his son's reaction, and set the two tunics aside.

'Now then,' he said, ushering them into his study and seating himself behind the desk. 'I believe the two of you have something to tell me.'

Alanna frowned minutely at his knowing glance, and then blushed when Alex squeezed her hand in reassurance, only then realising that she must have taken his hand when they entered. 'Father,' Alex said, standing straight-backed, and much calmer than he had been before, 'you already know what I want to ask you, but I will say it anyway.'

He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, and didn't continue until his father made an impatient gesture. 'I- Lady Alanna and I wish to be betrothed. May we have your blessing?'

There were a few seconds of tense silence before Lord Arthur smiled widely. 'Of course,' he said. 'You will be married in the coming spring, I presume?'

Alanna just barely managed to stop herself from embracing him, and instead turned her head to Alex, who was still staring seriously at his father. 'I am due to go south to Persepolis with His Highness for the winter. We leave in a month, and may not return until the spring is over.'

'... Then you will marry in the summer?' Lord Arthur asked, sounding slightly put out, and this time it was Alanna who answered.

'We haven't decided yet, my lord. But I-' she glanced again at Alex before continuing. 'I should not think it will be too long.'

* * *

Lord Arthur left the capital later on that week, and not long after, Alanna sent for the guardsman Artos to accompany her into the Great Southern Desert. Alex and Prince Jonathan would not be leaving for another two weeks, but Alanna had hoped to visit some of the tribes before meeting them in Persepolis.

Alex held onto her horse's reigns as she mounted up, placing Scrap in a small cup on the saddle, and once she was in place, she leant down to kiss his cheek. 'I'll see you soon,' she said with a grin, and he smiled as she rode away.


	35. Epilogue: Homecoming

Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to xxTunstall Chickxx for being the first reviewer.

Miss Moony would also like to thank Aly-Of-Tortall13 and Fairy Lights for reviewing.

-- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good --

Epilogue

It was with the fading light of the summer evening that the bustling village greeted its newest arrivals. The four horses picked their way through the crowd, somehow managing not to step on anybody as they delivered their riders safely to the gates of the fief. 'We'll stay here for the night,' the group's leader said, turning in the saddle to face her companions, 'and continue on to Corus in the morning, if that's alright with you, Thayet?'

Thayet nodded, dismounting gracefully. Her eyes danced as she said, 'And of course, this stop is only out of necessity, and you have no ulterior motives.'

'Of course,' Alanna replied, slipping out of her saddle and gesturing for Buri and Artos to do the same. She turned away from them to ring the bell that would call the gatekeeper, and didn't see the amused look that her friends shared at her answer.

After two rings, the gatekeeper appeared, and started at the sight of her. 'My lady,' he said with no small amount of surprise as he gave her a once-over and frowned at the dirt from the road that covered her clothes and face. 'Why did you not send a messenger ahead? A servant would have prepared baths for you, and for your... guests.'

She grinned. 'Is Sir Alexander here?' she asked. 'And Lord Arthur? We wanted to surprise them.'

'... _You_ wanted to surprise them,' Buri corrected quietly, and Thayet raised a hand to cover her laugh.

'My lord and Sir Alexander are both at home,' he told her, and called a servant to take their horses as they slipped inside through the barely-open gate.

And Alanna looked up at the building and smiled, because for the first time in all her eighteen years, returning to Tirragen – where Alex and Lord Arthur and her future were all waiting for her – felt a lot like coming home.

**THE END.**


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